Naruto Beyond
by Jackyl 2000
Summary: Next generation fic. Takes place 15 years after manga. Naruto is a jounin now and has his own, gennin team. What challenges awaits the NEW team number seven? Second exam ends! The real challenge begins now! Please Read & Review!
1. The Beginning of Their Ninja Way

This is my first fic so please bare with me.

For starters I'd like to thank Shang (who's stories I highly recommend) who helped me out with the characters (especially with finding the right names for them). At the end of this chapter you'll find a special note from him. Thanks man, I owe you one.

Second: even though it's an action/adventure/drama series you'll find some romance and humor as well. I've tried to keep this story in the spirit of original 'Naruto'.

Third: the main characters of the story will be my OC's. The original, 'Naruto' crew will appear as well and some of them will play a big part in the story, but still it's the OC's that will be the most important.

With that behind me, I think I can start the story. Hope you'll like it. And please leave a review with your opinion once you're done reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own 'Naruto'… Kishimoto-sama does.

**Chapter #1: The Beginning of their Ninja Way**

It was a sunny day at the Hidden Leaf village. The sun was slowly beginning to rise as blonde haired boy with red eyes began stretching himself from the goodnight sleep.

He took a glare at the clock, which shown it was 6 am. Then he turned his head to the calendar and smiled a bit. It was today. Today he was going to become a shinobi.

After eating breakfast he put on his usual, orange clothes (_A/N: just to let you guys know, he's not Naruto!_) and reached for the closet to pick out his forehead protector with the Leaf symbol on it.

Without any rush he walked to the Shinobi Academy to find out more about his new duties.

Once he found himself in his class, he seat nearest to the blackboard as it was only possible and with a big smile on his face he awaited their teacher to arrive.

Suddenly all the girls gathered in the classroom went 'Eeeeek!' and the blonde turned around to see a boy his age with spiky, black hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue shirt and white pants.

'_Oh, it's just that pinhead_' thought the blonde, as he turned away. '_Hanayaka Jun, number one on every girls ranking. That dope always gets the best grades and acts cool. I just hate that guy._'

'Well, well, well' he heard a voice coming from behind. 'If it isn't the lamest Kodumbari Urusai. How are you today bonehead?'

'My name's Kodawari Urusai dammit!' the blond yelled back at Jun. 'Let it gets to that little brain of yours!'

'Yeah, yeah' replied the black haired, sitting next to him. 'Whatever.'

'Someday I'll kick your ass for this' warned Urusai and turned his face away to the corner, just to spot a girl with long, silver hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a violet dress and her mouth was covered by a mask in that color.

'_Oh, it's her_' thought Urusai at the sight. '_Hatake Ayame, daughter of the famous Hatake Kakashi. She's extremely popular with guys, but she seems to be rather shy and don't talk much, not even with other girls._'

His thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of an older shinobi, wearing green clothes. He had medium-length, grey hair that fell on his shoulders. But what really drew Urusai's attention was a big scar that ran across the man's face.

'Welcome students' said the scar-face, turning to the young shinobies. 'Today will be your last day in the Academy, so I'd like to congratulate you all on passing the final exam and becoming a ninja. Keep in mind that you're only gennins now and that there are many people stronger and more experienced then you.'

'_Blah, blah, blah_' thought Urusai. '_Hurry it up; I can't wait to show off my super cool moves!_'

'The hard life of a shinobi has just began for you guys' continued the man. 'From now on you'll receive duties which you'll have to fulfill for the glory of your village. Today we'll be creating three-man teams and each team will have a jounin sensei. He or she will be the one to give you orders. You will follow your sensei's instructions as you'll be completing your duties.'

'_Three-man teams?_' Jun thought to himself. '_Crap, I'll have some losers bothering me…_'

'_So it's not gonna be just me and my sensei?_' Ayame thought a bit surprised.

'_Who cares?_' Urusai wasn't moved by that at all. '_As long as I don't get that moron, Jun on my team, it's cool._'

'We tried to balanced each team's strength and thus I separated you into teams judging from your grades and skills' announced the man. 'That way each team should have equal chances.'

As the man was going through the list, he finally got to the team which number made him smile under his nose:

'Next team, cell number seven' he announced and started reading the names. 'Hatake Ayame, Kodawari Urusai…'

'_So far, so good…_' thought Urusai.

'… and Hanayaka Jun!' the scar-face finished.

'_Crap!_' thought Urusai as he lowered his sight.

The man continued to read the rest of the teams and when he finally got to an end, he announced:

'Okay, now you have time for yourselves. In the afternoon I'll introduce your new sensei's to you. That's all for now.'

---------------------

'_Dammit_' Urusai thought to himself as he took another bite on his sandwich. '_Just my luck… I got the greatest show-off and the most introverted girl in my team. What else can go wrong?_'

Suddenly he spotted Ayame sitting on a nearby roof top. She was looking at the space in front of her. Urusai put away his lunch and jumping from one roof on another he landed next to her.

'Hey, what're you doing?'

'Enjoying my time alone' she replied, not even looking at him.

'_This is just great_' thought Urusai, rolling his eyes. '_Freaky day continues._'

'Say, Ayame-chan…' he began. '… maybe we should… you know… get to know each other a little better… being in the same team and all…'

She looked at him and then got back to watching the sky, saying:

'No, thanks.'

Urusai's eye twitched as he turned around and left her teammate to herself.

-----------------------

'_What lame day this turned out to be…_' Urusai thought to himself as he returned to eat his lunch. '_First I find out that I'm stuck on the same team as that moron, Jun and then my other teammate turns out to be a loner… what else can go wrong?_'

'Hey pinhead' he heard a voice coming from his back.

'_I had to ask…_' Urusai sighed and turned around to face Jun. 'Just what the hell do you want? I have better things to do then staring at your ugly so-called face.'

'Look here dope' replied Jun. 'I'm looking for Ayame. Our free time is almost up and we should get back to the class in order to meet that jounin sensei that's going to take care of our cell. You've seen her, Kodumbari?'

'My name is Kodawari!' yelled Urusai, getting back to his feet. 'And since we're in the same team you should make an effort to remember that, moron!'

'And what's the point?' he heard. 'It's not like you're anyone important. Besides, you're dead last in our class. We were teamed up to balance the teams. The weakest with the best. In case that tiny brain of your doesn't get it, the weakest one is you.'

'That does it!' Urusai gave Jun a glare with killing instinct. 'I'll beat you senseless and then we'll talk who's dead last, you moron!'

'Really?' asked Jun with a smile on his face. 'An interesting idea. Let's find some quiet place and see if you're the man of your word, shall we?'

'You're on, bonehead!' replied Urusai as both of them set out to one of the training areas.

--------------------------

'So this is my team?' asked a tall blonde with blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks, wearing a orange outfit.

'That's right' replied the man with the scar across his face.

'I'll get to teach the daughter of Kakashi-sensei… plus I have the famous Hanayaka Jun on my team. I've heard he's the best rookie in class.'

'There's more' announced the scar face. 'Check out the last name.'

The blonde looked at the paper and his eyes widen:

'Kodawari! But… can it be…?'

'I think it's better if you'll find out for yourself' replied the chuunin. 'Though I'd say that he's exactly who you think he is. You should watch out for him.'

'Don't worry, Iruka-sensei' responded the blonde, heading towards the door. 'I'll keep an eye out for him. See ya' and with that he disappeared in the cloud of smoke.

'_Why did he ever headed to the door if he intended to do that?_' Iruka thought to himself and he went back to filling out the papers.

* * *

And this concludes the first chapter of this story. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review with your opinion.

And now a special note from **Shang**, who found the names to the three OC's you guys were able to met in this chappie:

_Urusai Kodawari_ – his last name, 'kodawari' can be translated as 'trouble'. Why I gave his clan that name should remain a secret for now (don't want to ruin the surprise Jackyl has in store). His first name, 'urusai' can be translated as 'noisy' or 'loud'. Since the blonde was supposed to be like Naruto during his early years, I figure that name would fit him

_Jun Hanayaka_ – a genius ninja… finding the suitable names for this character wasn't really that hard. His last name, 'hanayaka' in this case means 'brilliant' and 'jun' (even though it has few meanings) can be translated as 'genius' or 'excellent'

_Ayame Hatake_ – since she's Kakashi's daughter, her last name didn't leave any possibilities. 'Hatake' means simply 'field' and based on that I've decided to give her a name that would fit to it. That's how she became 'ayame' which means 'iris' (a flower)

Now this is seriously the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and see you on another update!


	2. Clash of Classmates

Okay, first I'm gonna answer the reviewers (that's how it's done, right? ' ):

_**Shang**_ -no problem. And when it comes to Urusai's clan you'll have to wait just a few chapters to find out more about it, that's a promise. Also, thanks for allowing me to use your chapter covers idea.

_**Hyde**_ - I know, but that's the way I wanted them to be. But, as you know yourself, other OC's will be waaaay different... thanks for the review

_**Ming**_ - thanks... only sad you don't seem to like Urusai... teoretically he's the main character ' . But I'm glad you like Ayame. She's my favorite kunoichi from this story!

_**Buff Naruto**_ - yeah he is. And he grew strong, which you'll soon see. Thanks for the review and hope you'll keep on reading.

_**Ruka-kun**_ - don't worry, it's understandable. I was away for six days as well and got back only today. I'm glad you like it. As for who's Ayame's mother (coz I'm not sure when I planned to mention that ' ) I can tell you right now, coz it's not a big secret: it's Kurenai. And that also explains some of her abilities, which you'll soon find out about. Thanks for the review. Hope you'll keep on reading.

And now, before the story begins, I'd like to, once again, thank Shang (and invite you to read his stories) for allowing me to use his 'chapter covers' idea in my fic. In chase some of you don't know what's a chapter cover, I'll try to explain. To put it simply it's an artwork that appears in the manga before the chapter begins. For example, in original 'Naruto', the chapter cover for the sixth chapter persents Naruto with a scroll in his mouth, standing on a frog.

Now, without any more blater, lets get on with the show!

**Chapter #2: Clash of Classmates**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai and Jun standing in front of each other with pissed off faces and arms crossed.

'I believe this place will do' announced Jun, looking around.

They were now standing on a small glade with forest surrounding them.

'Whatever' replied Urusai. 'I couldn't care less as too where I'll beat the shit out of you.'

'Shall we begin then?'

'Begin what?' they've heard a female voice and a moment later Ayame walked from behind a nearby tree.

'Nothing important' replied Jun. 'I'm just gonna kick Kodumbari's little ass, that's all.'

'If anyone's ass is going to be kicked around here, it'll be yours!' yelled Urusai as he charged right at his new teammate.

The blonde had his fists ready, but his opponent merely smiled. As Urusai launched few, furious punches at the black hair, Jun easily dodged all of them and finally, as Urusai's fist was going right next to his head, he grabbed the blondes hand and flipped him over his shoulder.

Urusai landed hard on the ground, breathing deeply as Jun didn't even broke a sweat.

'_Well, I guess the difference in level between those two is rather obvious_' figure Ayame, as she observed the fight from the distance. '_At this rate, Urusai will lose… big time._'

The blonde shinobi attacked again, this time with a spin kick, but Jun ducked under it and launched a kick right in Urusai's chin. His foot connected and the blonde was send flying back. But before his back crushed to the ground once more, Jun jumped after him and landed a smashing kick in his stomach, thus making the impact with which Urusai crashed to the ground even greater.

This time Urusai did rush to get back on his feet. He observed Jun with anger in his eyes.

'_That show-off is making me look bad_' he thought to himself. '_And in front of our other teammate even! I won't allow it!_' and with that thought he began performing the right hand seals and took a deep breath.

'Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu!' and with that a huge fire spike shoot out of his mouth.

'_Using ninjutsu already?_' Jun was a bit surprised, but still calm he performed seals of his own and once he finished, he too took a deep breath and as he let the air out, he called out:

'Katon: Kasai Nankan!' and suddenly he got surrounded with fire.

As Urusai's attack reached Jun's fire barrier the two jutsus cancelled each other out, lifting up smoke. There was silence for a while but as soon as the smoke cleared, the blonde shinobi charged at his opponent with a kunai in his hand.

Jun bended back, thus avoiding the knife and once the kunai missed his head, he stood up straight and hit Urusai in the stomach with an opened hand.

As the blonde bended forward, Jun attacked again with an opened palm, this time in his opponents chin. Urusai went flying back, but this time he was able to land on his feet.

'Told you, you had no chance for winning' said Jun, looking at the blonde.

'Stop looking down on me, dammit!' yelled Urusai. 'This time your ass is fried!' and with that he began performing a new set of hand seals.

----------

A certain blonde with whisker marks on his cheeks looked around the classroom, but spotted nobody. The class was empty.

'_Just where the hell did those brats disappeared to?_'

----------

'Katon: Kasai Arashi no Jutsu!' Urusai called out and as fire went out of his mouth, it surrounded Jun, blocking every, possible way out.

'_That jutsu… that's at least jounin level!_' Jun thought to himself as he looked around just to see fire burning all around him. '_Is that really that Urusai who was the worst in the class?_'

Before he knew it, fireball began shoot at him from every direction. Jun did his best to avoid all, but still some were able to burn his clothes a bit.

'_If this keeps up, I'll lose_' Jun thought to himself. '_And I won't allow that loser to defeat me!_' and with that thought he began performing a new chain of hand seals.

'Katon: Kasai Bakuha!' and in an instant a fire ring exploded around him, destroying the fire trap created by Urusai.

As the black hair looked at Urusai, he saw that the blonde was breathing heavily. His last jutsu drained him from his chakra. However Jun also needed a lot of chakra to perform the last technique. He didn't show it, but he was exhausted as well.

'Well, will you finally understand that you don't have chances for victory and surrender?' Jun asked calmly, trying not to show that he's tired.

'Forget it' replied Urusai, forcing a smile. 'I'm still able to kick your ass, you moron!' and with that he picked out several shurikens.

Seeing that, Jun reached out for his hostel in order to prepare a kunai.

As Urusai threw his shurikens at him, Jun deflected them all with the knife in his hand and then threw the kunai right at the blonde.

Urusai jumped to the left in order to avoid the hit and perform a quick set of hand seals.

'Bushin no Jutsu!' and suddenly ten Urusai's appeared before Jun's eyes.

'What do you intend to do with that?' asked Jun, looking at the phantoms. 'This isn't Academy's final exam, pinhead' and with that he began performing a chain of hand seals of his own.

'Katon: Housenka!' and instantly several blasts of fire left his mouth.

Most of the phantoms weren't able to dodge, but the original avoided all the fireballs heading his way. As the fire shower ended, Jun rammed Urusai and launched an elbow into his stomach.

Urusai rolled on the ground for few meters, but as soon as he stopped, he got back on his feet and prepared another kunai. Jun did the same.

They both stared at each other for a few moments and then, at the same time, with wild screams, they charged at each other with the knives aimed at their opponent's heads.

As they came closer to each other, Ayame began to have a bad feeling. But the knives never reached their destination.

Before anyone of the three could react, the hands that were holding the knives got grabbed by someone and a moment later both Urusai and Jun were send flying away from each other.

As they both got back on their feet, they noticed a man with blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks, wearing orange uniform.

'Who are you?' asked Urusai, still looking at the new arrival.

'Seems that you guys don't like each other very much, do you?' came a question from the man, who didn't even seem to pay attention to Urusai.

'They're always like that' announced Ayame. 'Please, forgive them. But who are you?'

'Huh?' the blonde raised his eyebrow. 'Right, I forgot to introduce myself…'

'Who cares?' interrupted Jun. 'We were in the middle of the fight. Get yourself lost.'

'A fight, you say?' asked the whisker marks. 'It seemed more like a war. And you guys shouldn't be fighting each other now, since you're on the same team and all…'

'How did you know that?' asked Urusai, beginning to be curious.

'Well, it's only natural that I know my students, right?' replied the blonde.

'Your students?' Ayame was a bit shocked. 'You mean you're…?'

'That's right. My name is Naruto and I'm your new, jounin instructor.'

'_This guy is a jounin?_' thought Jun, looking at the man. '_He looks as dumb as Urusai…_'

'_Awesome!_' thought Urusai with a smile. '_We finally get some work!_'

'_Boy we're in trouble_' thought Ayame with a sigh.

'I suggest leaving this place and do something more constructive' announced Naruto. 'Follow me' and with that the Leaf shinobies went on their way.

* * *

And this concludes the second chappie. PLEASE leave a review once you're done reading. 

Now I decided to translate the names of the techniques used in this chapter (to those who are interested). At this point I'd like to thank Shang who gave me the link to a good online english to japanese dictonary, thanks to which I was able to use Japan names for the moves. Here goes:

_Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu_ (Fire Element: Fire Lance Skill) used by Kodawari Urusai

_Katon: Kasai Nankan_ (Fire Element: Fire Barrier) used by Hanayaka Jun

_Katon: Kasai Arashi no Jutsu_ (Fire Element: Firestorm Skill) used by Kodawari Urusai

_Katon: Kasai Bakuha_ (Fire Element: Fire Blast) used by Hanayaka Jun

_Bushin no Jutsu_ (Replication Skill) used by practically all the shinobi

_Katon: Housenka_ (Fire Element: Mythical Fire Flower) used by Hanayaka Jun, also by Uchiha Sasuke

This is it... for now. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review before you leave.

Catch you later.


	3. New and Improved Team Seven

Hey, there are people who actually read this! Yupi! Better answer them then:

**_Shang - _**I know, but I wanted to show that they both are at least gennin level. That will play part later on.

**_Frankie - _**Yeah, I know Kurenai seems more into Asuma but... well, I won't say what my reasons were... for now...

**_Hyde -_** I know, everybody is waiting for the exam... fine, it will start this chappie... you happy? -

**_Ming -_** Glad to hear that... I think your suprise may raise after the Gennin Exam ends...

_**Blue Kanji -**_ as I written, Kakashi married Kurenai... practically the only choice... okay, there was one more, but... anyway, it's Kurenai... thanks for taking your time and leaving a review... hope you like what I have in stored (p.s. I see you're a 'Naruto' fanfic writter as well... I promise I'll check your stories when I'll find a little time).

And now, coz I know you all want to know what happened next (or at least I hope you are), here's chapter three of 'Naruto Beyond':

**Chapter #3: New and Improved Team Number Seven!**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai dressed like a baseball player throws a ball right into the readers

'Okay, first thing we're going to do is make a suitable introductions' announced Naruto as he and his new students found a sitting spot somewhere near the center of the village. 'Let's start with…'

'Maybe with you?' asked Urusai. 'All we know is that you're are new sensei!'

'With me?' Naruto's eyebrow went up. 'Okay, fine… my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen but even more I like ramen served at the Ichiraku Stand. I hate waiting those three minutes…'

'_This guy's a freak_' thought Jun, hearing that.

'… my dream… well, lets leave that for now…' suggested Naruto. 'When it goes for hobbies, once it was pulling pranks, now… I don't know… don't have any, I guess…'

'Boy, that's a lot of information' whisper Ayame to Urusai as he nodded.

'Okay, your turn' announced Naruto. 'Ladies first…'

'My name is Hatake Ayame. I like peace and quiet…'

'_This is original_' thought Naruto. '_So why in the world did you became a shinobi?_'

'… I hate people who think highly of themselves. My goal is to become worthy of my father's name and to become the strongest kunoichi in the Leaf! Hobbies… doing nothing, I suppose.'

'Alright' nodded Naruto. 'Guess you're next…'

'Hanayaka Jun. There are hundreds of thing I don't like, for example Urusai here, but there isn't something I would specially adore. I'm not a dreamer, but my goal is to become a respective member of Konoha and to make my clans name famous again. Hobbies… none.'

'_Well, aren't you an interesting fellow_' thought Naruto as he turned his eyes at Urusai. 'You're the last one, it seems…'

'He always is' announced Jun.

Urusai just gave his rival an evil stare and then began:

'My name is Kodawari Urusai! I like… eee… well, I hate Jun!' at this point he glared at the black hair. 'My goal is to become the Hokage one day! And I'll definitely achieve it! Hobbies… well… eating, perhaps.'

'_So he really is from the Kodawari?_' thought Naruto. '_Well, the resemblance in looks is easy to spot. Interesting group I have, that's for sure._'

'Okay, that's enough introductions for now' announced Naruto as he got up from his sitting spot. 'Let's talk about your duties for tomorrow…'

'So, what're those duties all about?' asked Urusai, not very interested.

'Well, first we'll do something of my choice…'

'And what might that be?' asked Jun.

'A survival training' replied Naruto. 'Your opponent will be me… and this won't be a typical training, really…'

'Huh?' Urusai was a bit surprised. 'Then what kind of training will that be?'

'Well, to start of, let me just tell you guys that out of 27 graduates from the Academy only nine will be chosen as gennins… those who'll fail, are send back to the Academy… or simpler: you guys have 66 at failing to become a shinobi…'

Urusai's jaw went to the ground as Ayame could be heard gulping. Only Jun seemed not moved by the last statement.

'Heh… reactions of me and my team once we heard that were pretty similar…' Naruto smiled under his nose.

'So what's the point in graduating anyway!' yelled Urusai.

'To not waste jounin's time' replied the blonde jounin. 'That way those who have any chance of passing this next exam are chosen.'

'That's kinda unfair…' announced Ayame.

'You're father thought the exact opposite' responded Naruto. 'Anyway, tomorrow you guys will be judged by me on the training ground. Bring all your shinobi tools… and I'd advice you to skip breakfast, otherwise you might end up throwing up…'

'_Somehow I have a bad feeling about this…_' thought Urusai.

'You'll find the details on those notes' with that Naruto gave them some papers. 'See you tomorrow. And don't be late…' and with that he was gone.

'_I can do this… I won't fail_' Ayame thought to herself.

'_Fine, I'll just kick ass and be promoted to gennin!_' thought Urusai.

Jun just read the note and then threw it away.

----------

The place described on the note happened to be a training area with a stone monument in the middle of a small glade and forest surrounding it from every direction. What caught Jun's attention (_A/N: he got there first_) were three stumps right next to the monument.

Soon after Urusai appeared, Jun showed himself and after giving his rival a 'hmph' walked under the stumps and settled down under one of them.

They didn't have to wait long for Naruto to appear, though Ayame was late.

'_She's definitely Kakashi's daughter..._' the blonde jounin sighed to himself.

Being half an hour late, Ayame appeared on the training field breathing deeply.

'Sorry I'm late' she apologized. 'A black cat…'

'Already heard that' interrupted Naruto. 'But that's okay. I figure you'd came later, so decided to set the meeting date an hour earlier then I was planning. But that's beside the point…' he said as he began walking forwards he stumps.

He picked out an alarm clock from his bag and placed it on one of them. Jun noticed that he set the alarm clock for noon.

'Alright, let's get to the point…' said Naruto as he picked out two, small bells. 'I have here two bells. Your task will be to take them away from me before noon. Those of you who won't get the bell, gets no lunch. More over, they'll be tied up to those stumps and be forced to see me eating their lunch…'

'_Well, the reason he forbid us to eat breakfast became obvious…_' thought Jun.

'You need to get only one bell…' continued Naruto. 'But there are only two, so at least one of you will be tied to those stumps. Of course those who won't get the bell, fail this test…'

'That's not fair!' yelled Urusai. 'There's no way all of us can pass!'

'The world isn't fair, so why this exam should?' replied Naruto with the bored face. 'But your fear is expected… after all you were dead last in the Academy…'

Urusai made an angry face, but stood still.

'_At least he's not as impulsive as I used to be…_' the blonde jounin thought to himself and after a short while, he continued: 'You may use shurikens, kunai, even any type of ninjutsu you know. I'll tell you right now that if you won't come at me with an intend to kill, you'll never get the bells.'

'But isn't that dangerous?' asked Ayame.

'You really shouldn't worry about it' replied Naruto. 'For one thing, I doubt you guys will be able to even lay a finger on me…'

'You're underestimating us!' announced Urusai.

'Am I now?' he suddenly heard a voice coming from behind and he turned around just to see Naruto standing right in front of him.

'_He's fast…_' thought Ayame. '_I didn't even noticed when he moved…_'

'_I thought this guy was just talk…_' thought Jun. '_Getting those bells could be a bit harder then I expected._'

'Okay, time isn't on your side' announced Naruto as he looked at the alarm clock. 'From now on you guys have two hours to get the bells…'

'_I'll do it!_' thought Urusai to himself. '_Even if I'll be forced to wipe the floor with Naruto-sensei, I'll get those damn bells and become a gennin!_'

'Lets get this show on the road' said Naruto. 'On your marks… get set and… BEGIN!'

And with that the three disappeared in the bushes.

* * *

Came out shorter then I expected... sorry. At least I don't think you'll have to wait for chapter four too long... 

Hope you liked it. Please leave a review to tell me whether this suck big time or small time, okay?

Cya around and take care.


	4. The Blood of Kodawari

Tadam! I wrote another chapter (damn, I must be bored)... but before you'll get to reading it, here're the answers to your reviews:

_**Shang**_ - well, I'm glad you like the introductions, coz I really wanted to make them funny... hope you'll like what's in stored.

**_Hyde_** - well, hope this is fast enough for you :wink: Since it seems Ayame is your favorite, I'll tell you that you'll get to know her a bit better in the next chappie. STill I hope you'll read this one.

**_Frankie_** - I do not plan on dropping it... and soon you'll see that this team number seven isn't that much similar to the old one

**_Ming_** - well, the exam started already... hope it won't fail your expectations

**_Blue Kanji_** - if you want I can give you my e-mail... that'd make comunication easier, won't it?

And with that, I think I can go on with the story:

**Chapter #4: The Blood of Kodawari**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai with a wicked smile, carrying a flame thrower

"_Most basic skill of a shinobi_" thought Naruto as he looked around just to spot no-one. "_But attacking from the hide out is so lame… and they won't attack me unless I'll go into one of their traps... Guess there's no point in standing here… they won't attack me on an open space so the only option is to go into the forest… Something tells me this is going to be a long day…_" and with that he marched forwards the trees.

After a longer march, Naruto got bored as hell, so he decided to make his students attack him:

"Here, little gennins" he said, obviously making fun of them. "Come on, daddy's got a nice, golden bell for you…"

"Why you…!" a voice came from behind and as Naruto turned around, he had to jump to the left, in order to avoid shurikens coming right at him.

The one who threw them, was Urusai.

"_What an idiot…_" thought Jun from his hideout. "_That's exactly what Naruto-sensei wanted, you dope! You exposed yourself!_"

"_Urusai doesn't stand much chances, but at least we'll learn how strong Naruto-sensei is…_" figured Ayame from a tree branch.

"I kinda figured you'd fall for that…" announced the blonde jounin. "Now then, what are you planning? I hope it's not just coming at me, coz if you do I'll tell you right now: that plan has zero chances of success…"

"Aren't you over confident?" asked Urusai. "Underestimating your enemy is a biggest mistake shinobi can make!"

"Well, at least you did learned something at the Academy…" sighed Naruto. "But if I'd have to be completely honest with you, in the real world, gennin defeating a jounin is likely to happen… of course I won't stop you if you want to find out yourself…"

"Sure I do!" replied Urusai and began performing the right seals. "Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu!" and a powerful, fire spike flew right at the blonde jounin.

_Using fire, eh?_" thought Naruto, jumping into the air and thus avoiding the jutsu. "_Well, should be expected from someone from the Kodawari clan…_"

"Now I got you!" yelled Urusai as he threw few of his kunai's right at Naruto, who was still in mid-air.

"_Can't dodge…_" figured the blonde jounin. "_Then I'll just have too…_" and as the knives got closer, Naruto grabbed all of them with his hands and landed softly on the ground.

"Told you so…" reminded Naruto as he threw the kunai's into the ground.

"Would… you… just… shut up!" yelled Urusai as he began a new chain of hand seals. "Katon: Enmaku!" and instantly a huge among of smoke came out of his mouth, covering the whole area.

_Heh, using such technique… that's practically a chuunin level skill… but it was meant for safer escapes, not for fighting…_" thought Naruto, as he looked around. "_I could just get rid of the smoke with one of my wind jutsus… but I guess that'd be unfair if I'd treat those brats as they were jounins… better stick to basic skills…besides, it's been a while since I pulled a prank on someone…_"

Urusai walked slowly through the smoke, trying to spot his sensei. Finally he noticed a figure standing to his left. The blonde gennin prepared his kunai and then jumped at the man. Too his surprise his knife went right through the body.

Urusai looked puzzled, not knowing what happened.

"Bushin no Jutsu" announced Naruto, how was now standing behind him. "You fall for one of the most basic techniques. That doesn't make you look good…"

"Look who's talking…" Naruto heard a voice coming from behind and before he knew it, he had to jump to the right to avoid a shuriken threw from behind by Urusai.

_He send a bushin to attack me in order to avoid possible traps…_" figured the blonde jounin as he kept avoiding shurikens and kunais which were coming at him from the smoke. "_He's smarter then I first thought…_"

Finally shinobi tools stopped flying. The smoke disappeared and Naruto saw Urusai standing in front of him with a kunai ready.

"What do you expect to do with that?" asked Naruto, rising his eyebrow.

"Get the bell, of course" replied Urusai confidently and jumped at his sensei.

Naruto bended back in order to dodge the cut from the right. As the knife was going above his head he grabbed the hand that was holding the kunai and tossed his student at the tree.

Urusai bounced of the tree with his feet and flew at the blonde jounin still holding a kunai in his hand. But this time Naruto only side stepped and when the blonde gennin was flying right next to him, he grabbed him by the collar. Urusai's feet went in front of his eyes and before he knew it, he landed hard on his butt.

"_Dammit!_" cursed Urusai. "_I can't even lay a finger on him! Can the gap really be this big?_"

"Well…?" asked Naruto, looking as his student was getting back to his feet. "If you won't get the bell, you won't have lunch. I don't mean to be rude, but as it is now, I don't think you'll manage to get these" with that he pointed at the two, small bells.

"I know that!" yelled back Urusai. "And I'm still gonna kick your ass!"

And before Naruto knew it, the blonde gennin was charging at him at full speed once more.

Urusai jumped into the air, aiming to kick Naruto in the head with his right leg, but the blonde jounin simply kneeled under the kick and the leg flew above his head.

As Urusai landed with his feet on the ground and back turned to Naruto, he launched a left kick, spinning around, but to his surprise the blonde jounin propped his right hand on the ground and launched himself away from Urusai's range.

Before Urusai knew it, he felt a pat on the head. He turned around to see Naruto with a grin on his face and an annoying "yo!" coming from his mouth.

That one "yo" angered Urusai to no end. He clenched his fists and attacked his sensei with a storm of punches, but the blonde jounin was easily dodging all of them.

"Using anger in a fight is one of the worst things a shinobi can do" announced Naruto as Urusai's fist went right next to his head. "When you attack with rage, you show hundreds of openings. For example…" and with those words Naruto avoided another punch and took Urusai down a peg or two.

That angered the blonde gennin even more. He launched a kick in Naruto's face but before he knew it, he felt someone pushing his head from behind. Standing only on one leg, Urusai couldn't hold his balance and landed with his face on the ground.

"See what I mean?" asked Naruto, standing behind him with his arms cross.

_And he didn't even broke a sweat…_" thought Ayame, looking at her sensei. "_How are we supposed to take the bell from someone like him?_"

"_Well, Urusai practically failed…_" figured Jun from his hideout. "_Gotta think of a better way to get those damn bells…_"

"I won't fail here!" announced Urusai, getting back to his feet. "I'll get those stupid bells, even if that kills me!"

"Boy you're stubborn" sighed Naruto. "Just like your father…"

"My father?" the blonde gennin calmed down a bit. "You knew my father?"

"Well… you could say that…" nodded the jounin. "He had anger problems as well… only in his case, when he got mad, no-one was safe… in your case you're only a danger to yourself and your comrades… guess that short temper runs in your family…"

"What else do you know about my father? Tell me everything you know!"

"No can do…" replied Naruto, realizing that he already told the boy too much. "Maybe another time"

"Tell me now!" yelled Urusai in an ordering tone.

"No" responded Naruto calmly. "Right now you should be worrying about getting a bell then about your father… and still it seems you're not getting any closer to getting the bell…"

"I'll beat you to a pulp!" yelled Urusai. "And once that's done I'll take that damn bell and make you tell me everything you know about my father!" and with that he began performing a new set of hand seals.

As the last seal was done, Urusai called out: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

And suddenly his place took ten, other blonde gennins.

* * *

Well, this concludes this chapter. Hope you all liked it and that you'll leave me a review with your opinion. 

At this point I'd like to thank Shang who helped me out with writting this chappie (mostly with the fighting scene) and for allowing me to use his jutsu encyklopedia idea. From now on, I'll place a description for one jutsu per chapter (unless all the jutsus used in the story will be described... then I'll think of some filler up). So, here's the first technique described in this story:

**_Katon: Enmaku_** (Fire Element: Smokescreen) - a technique performed by most chuunins. The user first gathers chakra in his mouth and then turns it into flames. But before he releases the fire from his mouth, the fire burns out and in stead of flames, smoke escapes the users mouth. (**Type:** ninjutsu; **Used by:** Kodawari Urusai, most chuunins)

Hope you like the jutsu encyklopedia idea. If you do, let me know and I'll continue it.

That's that. Take care and cya around.


	5. Like Father, Like Daughter

Okay... to start of, I was warned that we're not allowed to answer reviewers personally (heard that from a rather reliable source) so I've decided to ask Shang if he'll allow me to use his idea... again (you really should check out his stories... especially 'Naruto: Next Generation', coz if you like mine there's a high possibility you'll like that one as well). So, since now, I'll answer your reviews like this:

**Urusai:** It's me, your number one ninja, Kodawari Urusai! Since now I'll be asking that sorry excuse for a writter, Jackyl, about the things you want to know... to start of our new reviewer wishes to know where will the rookie nine make an appearance?

**Jackyl:** Well, all of them are going to appear and some will play a big part too... however, you'll have to wait few chapters for that... the old, 'Naruto' crew will start showing up when Chuunin Exam will begin (few will appear earlier though).

**Urusai:** Okay, next one: seems that I'm not enough (you guys have no taste) and the readers wish to know when Ayame will make an attemp? So...?

**Jackyl:** You won't have to way too long... she makes the entrance this chapter.

**Urusai:** The rest is mostly a 'good job' announcments, it seems.

**Jackyl:** Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. Before we start I want to thank Shang just one, last time for helping me out with this, and without more delays, here's the fifth chapter of 'Naruto: Beyond'!

**Chapter #5: Like Father, like Daughter**

**_Chapter Cover:_** this one will show Ayame on the front with Kakashi bending over right behind her, so their faces would be on the same level

_Kage bushin?_" Naruto's eyebrow went up. "_How in the world did he master that jutsu? More over, how in the world did he even know it exists?_"

"_What the…?_" Jun's eyes almost went out of orbit. "_That's not a typical bushin! And the other bodies are not just phantoms! They're real bodies!_"

Urusai and his clones picked out their kunai's and giving their sensei an evil glare they charged at the blonde jounin.

As the first clone came closer to Naruto, the blonde just side stepped out of its way, leaving his right foot so the clone would trip on it. The gennin lost his balance and after rolling on the ground for few meters, he stopped on the tree, disappearing in the cloud of white smoke.

Then Naruto jumped into the air, making a single somersault and grabbing two of the clones by their shirts from behind in the process. As his feet touched the ground, he tossed both clones on two, other ones that were charging right at him.

As the tossed clones hit the ones charging, all four of them disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

The original Urusai and his other, four clones stopped in their tracks, seeing how easily their sensei defeated half of them.

_Defeating this guy is impossible!_" thought Urusai, lowering his head. And then he ordered his clones to surround his sensei in last, desperate attempt to get the bells.

His clones jumped at Naruto all at the same time still holding kunai's in their hands, but the blonde jounin simply kneeled down and the clones crashed with each other in mid-air, disappearing in the cloud of white smoke.

And before Urusai knew it he was already tied with a rope to a tree.

"Hey, what the hell?" he yelled, flipping his legs up and down.

"Boy, you're dumb" replied Naruto, appearing before his eyes. "I tied you to the tree…"

"And how am I suppose to get the bells like this?" Urusai kept yelled at his sensei.

"That's not my problem" announced the blonde jounin as he began to walk away. "You're a shinobi, free yourself" and with that he was gone.

"_Taking the bell will be a bit more difficult then I thought…_" figured Jun. "_With all that Urusai wasn't even able to lay a finger on that guy… guess I won't have the chance to play around…_"

----------

Naruto walked through the forest. It seemed like he wasn't even looking around but in truth he actually had all of his surrounding on his eye. And it was thanks to that that he spotted a falling leaf. Someone was hiding on a nearby tree.

"_Urusai is probably still tied up to that tree and Jun seemed to be really good in shinobi art…_" figured the blonde jounin, pretending he didn't noticed anything. "_Guess it's Ayame… I could just tease her with some genjutsu, but I'll give her a chance… we'll see what she's capable of…_"

As he walk on by, the leaves that were lying on the ground started to float. Before he knew it a storm of leaves appeared around him.

"_Konohagakure no Jutsu_" figured Naruto. "_For a gennin to be able to use that technique… she must be good at genjutsu… but that should be obvious, she is Kakashi-sensei's daughter after all…_"

As the leaf storm cleared, twenty Ayames appeared before Naruto's eyes.

"_Bushin… but they're just phantoms… what is she planning?_"

Suddenly Ayame's phantoms began surrounding Naruto. Once he found himself in the middle of the circle form by Ayames, the girls picked out kunais and began bombarding the blonde jounin with the throwing knives.

As Naruto dodged most of the knives, he reached for his hostel and picked out a kunai of his own, with which he deflected some of the knives that were heading straight at him. As more and more kunais landed on the ground, he finally saw what Ayame's plan was.

_Shit…_" was all he could think before the explosive tags that were attached to the real knives went off.

The bushins disappeared and Ayame waited with a kunai in her hands for the smoke to clear. As it did so, she noticed that her sensei was nowhere in sight.

_How did he escaped?_" she wondered as a whistling sound came to her ears.

She turned around just to spot a kunai flying right at her. She wasn't fast enough to dodge and the knife went straight through her throat. With her blood spraying all over the place, she felt to the ground motionless.

A second later she sit up straight, screaming loudly. She checked her neck. There was no wound.

"And how does it feel to land in other persons genjutsu?" she heard Naruto's voice coming from behind. "Not too pleasant, was it? Next time you won't use such an attack, will you?"

"What did you do, Naruto-sensei?" Ayame turned around to her jounin instructor.

"You see, there are higher levels of genjutsu…" announced Naruto. "The bushin is only a basic skill which most shinobies can use. Genjutsu techniques known to everyone, such as bushin or konohagakure no jutsu can be easily avoided. If you want to use genjutsu as your primary skill, you have to concentrate on higher level techniques and invent your own illusions; otherwise your chances to fool anyone will be rather low…"

"I'm still just a gennin!" she replied. "How can I obtain more powerful genjutsu spells at my current level?"

"Well, you have a point…" nodded the blonde jounin. "That is why you shouldn't use genjutsu against a shinobi of a higher rank then yourself. If you decide to do so, be prepared that it can be very ineffective… your father should taught you that. After all, he did tried to encounter Itachi's inborn sharingan with his own and remember the consequences…"

"You know my father?"

"Well, since he's the current Hokage and all it's only natural, don't you think?" replied Naruto. "But you could say that I know him quite well… he was my sensei after all…"

Ayame's eyes widen: "You were trained by my father?"

"I see that he still doesn't like to talk about himself…"

"It's not that…" announced Ayame, lowering her head. "He… doesn't speak to me at all…"

"What do you mean?"

"As you said: he's the Hokage. The village is more important to him then me. It's always _I'm too busy _or _Not now, Ayame_… even though he's my father, he doesn't care about me…"

Naruto came closer to the young kunoichi and put his hand on her head.

"That's not true" he announced. "You see, things aren't always that simple. I'm sure he cares about you, much more then you think. But because he's the Hokage… he cares about everyone in the village. All of the Leaf shinobies are his family… try to understand that…"

"I… I think I do…" replied Ayame. "But it's still hard to accept…"

"I know" ensured Naruto. "There are many things I understand… and yet can't accept. But that's just how things are. No matter how much I'd regret them, I can't change the past. No-one can. Just like Kakashi-sama will remain Hokage, just the same I'll always be the Kyuubi carrier. The best you can do is learn to live with it…"

"I guess you're right, Naruto-sensei…" nodded Ayame.

"Well, I'm off, your exam haven't ended yet" reminded the blonde jounin. "In case you'll like to give it another shot, just look for me. I'll be around…" and with that he was gone.

----------

"Well, both Urusai and Ayame failed miserably didn't they?" asked Jun.

"I wouldn't say they did that bad…" replied Naruto, coming from behind the tree. "But none of them got the bells, that's or sure…"

"Well, I'll tell you right now, that I'm not like the other two..."

"Guess we'll see about that, won't we?" and hearing that question Jun turned around to face his sensei.

* * *

And that's that for now. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review once you're done. 

And now another part of my jutsu encyklopedia:

_**Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu**_ (Fire Element: Fire Lance Skill) - technique invented by Urusai. The user first gathers chakra in his mouth and then releases it in the form of a flame with the use of the correct seals. The flame takes the shape of a spike and then flies right at the opponent. (**Type:** ninjutsu; **Used by:** Kodawari Urusai)

And this seriously concludes this chapter.

Hope to see you when the next is updated.

Take care.


	6. Naruto's Conclusion

**Urusai:** And here we are with another chapter from "Naruto Beyond"! I wonder what the result of the exam will be...

**Jackyl:** ... Shouldn't you tell me what the reviewers wish to know before that?

**Urusai:** Oh yeah! Well some reviewers think Jun is much alike Sasuke... whoever that guy is... so, mind straighting this up?

**Jackyl:** Well, at first Jun really seems like a Sasuke-wannabe, but I can promise you that in later parts of the story he'll prove himself to be different from the Uchiha prodigy. Besides, Sasuke will make an appearance in later part as well... and his role will be rather big...

**Urusai:** One of the reviewers wish to know my bloodline limit... so do I, for that matter...

**Jackyl:** Sorry, but this one I'd prefer to keep for myself... for now... you'll find out more about it during the Chuunin Exam...

**Urusai:** Next... is Naruto-sensei my father?

**Jackyl:** No, he's not... he did knew Urusai's father however... and that's all I'm saying about that... for now...

**Urusai:** Okay, last question: why did Naruto-sensei became an instructor?

**Jackyl:** He is a jounin, so it's only natural he was assigned to a gennin team. Besides, he's not the only one from the old, 'Naruto' crew who'll be leading his own, gennin team. You'll see.

And now, without further delays, time for the sixth chapter of my fic:

**Chapter #6: Naruto's Conclusion**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Jun is standing a little bended over with a Fuuma Shuriken, ready to throw it

"I'm not like the other two" announced Jun, turning around to face his sensei.

"That would be a good line after you take the bells from me, Jun" replied Naruto calmly.

----------

"Hey, Urusai" said Ayame, walking from behind the tree. "What're you up to?"

"I'm tied up to a tree, are you blind?" yelled back the blonde, flipping his legs. "Untie me, dammit!"

"You should ask politely…" announced Kakashi's daughter, moving her finger in front of his eyes back and fort. "Otherwise you might not get what you want…"

"Cut the crap and help me out!" begged Urusai, more pissed by the minute.

"Fine… but something tells me I'm gonna regret that…" and with that she picked out a kunai and started cutting the ropes.

----------

Jun and Naruto were standing in front of each other, not moving an inch.

Suddenly, with a smirk on his face, Jun launched several shurikens at his sensei and ran right after them. Naruto dodged all the shinobi stars, but his eyes widen as he saw the young Hanayaka coming right at him.

Acting on instinct, the blonde grabbed him, bended back and tossed the rookie ninja behind. Jun was able to prop his feet on the ground though and came to a sliding stop way sooner then Naruto expected him to.

Before the blonde jounin even got back to his feet, Jun launched a kick in his back. But to the rookie surprise, Naruto grabbed his leg before it hit him without even turning around and then began to turn it around, thus causing Jun to flip over and land with his face on the ground.

"Well?" asked the blonde, turning around. "You were supposed to be different then the other two… so far I'd say that you equal Urusai and Ayame…"

"I'm gonna wipe that smile of your face… Naruto-sensei" announced Jun calmly as he began to form hand seals and once he was done, he called out: "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

Naruto found himself jumping wildly in order to avoid all the fireball that came at him.

"_That's Sasuke's technique…_" he thought to himself. "_So I guess it's true what they say… that the Hanayaka are one of the three, greatest clans when it comes to fire jutsus… I guess at this point he's better then Urusai… I should watch out for him from now on…_"

And as his feet touched the ground, the last fireball blew up a tree behind him.

"You missed…" he announced simply, watching as Jun took out more shurikens.

"This time I'll get you…" he stated as he launched the shinobi stars in his hands at the jounin.

----------

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" asked Iruka after entering the Hokage office.

"Yes, I did…" replied the man with silver hair and purple outfit. The mask hid his face and his headband, located on his forehead, was falling on his left eye. "I wanted to ask you something…"

"I guess it's about Ayame, isn't it?"

"Indeed… who did you assigned her too?"

"Naruto…" Iruka replied shortly and then there was silence.

"You think it's a good idea?" asked the Rokudaime. "It's not only about Ayame, but the son of Uragiri… we don't want to repeat the past mistakes…"

"I know" responded the chuunin. "And that's why I assigned them to Naruto…"

"I see…" nodded the silver-hair. "You may go…"

"Of course, Kakashi-sama…" and with that Iruka disappeared.

Kakashi looked out the window: "_Do your best, Ayame…_" he begged before returning to the paperwork.

----------

Naruto collected all the shurikens that were flying at him and then threw them back right at Jun. Surprisingly the rookie didn't even tried to dodge and allowed all the shinobi stars to sunk into his body.

As the boy was falling motionlessly to the ground, Naruto bended over in order to avoid the kick coming from behind. It was Jun.

"_Using a Kawarimi in a situation like this…_" the blonde thought to himself, as he prepared his hands. "_It's not anything spectacular, but for a rookie gennin to stay this calm in the battle conditions… that is pretty amazing…_"

"Shinobi must always stay alert" announced Naruto, as he located himself right behind Jun. "And most importantly, he should not allow anyone to get him from behind… I'll teach you that the hard way…" and with that he placed his hands on Jun's rear.

A second later Jun was already flying into the air, holding his butt and Naruto was calmly observing him crushing to the ground.

"Sennen Goroshi" announced the blonde jounin. "Quite unpleasant, wasn't it?"

"You bastard!" yelled Jun as he charged at the whisker-marks with his fists.

"_So he can be pissed as well…_" Naruto thought to himself as he grabbed the rookie by his collar and slammed him to the ground. "So much for you proving me that you're different from the other two…"

"Heh…" Jun smirked as he began performing a quick set of hand seals. Once he was done, he called out: "Katon: Kasai Bakuha!" and before Naruto knew it a powerful ring of fire exploded from the rookie.

Having no, other alternative, Naruto instantly performed Kawarimi no Jutsu and the fire ring burnt the wooden pale that appeared in his place.

Once he located himself in the safe distance, the blonde jounin performed a new chain of hand seals and slammed his hands to the ground, yelling: "Doton: Deichi Kansei!" and before Jun knew it the earth beneath his feet turned into mud in which he started sinking.

Once his hands were trapped in the mud, he stopped sinking and Naruto walked out of the forest.

"I was expecting a bit more from you…" announced the blonde jounin. "But that was a good trick… when you acted like you were pissed to get closer to me and perform that Fire Blast of yours. Still I don't think you're stronger then Ayame or Urusai though…" then the ring of the alarm clock was heard throughout the forest. "And with that, your test is finished…"

----------

"Boy, you guys sure disappointed me quite a bit…" sighed Naruto. "I leave the fact that both bells are still with me…"

"That's not fair!" yelled Urusai. "We were starving! How in the world did you expect us to get those stupid bells like that?"

Naruto just looked at him, but kept silent.

"Anyways, I believe that you guys would like to know this tests results, right?" he asked after a longer while.

"What's the point?" asked back Ayame. "You have the bells, Naruto-sensei… it's only obvious we all failed…"

"Actually…" said the blonde jounin and instantly threw a kunai in her direction.

Kakashi's daughter hit the ground right before the knife reached her, thus avoid a certain death. Jun looked at their sensei with a questioning glare as Urusai yelled:

"What the hell is your problem, you old fart? You're trying to kill her?"

"You brats seriously don't get it at all…" sighed Naruto and picked out more kunai's. "Allow me to show you something…" and with that he threw the knives at the surprised, rookie shinobies.

* * *

And that concludes this chapter! Hope you'll leave a review once you're done. 

And now for another technique description:

**_Katon: Kasai Bakuha_** (Fire Element: Fire Blast) - jutsu performed by Jun. The user must first gather chakra in his whole body and then, with the help of right hand seals, release it in a form of a fire ring, that explodes, thus making itself bigger. (**Type:** ninjutsu; **Used by:** Hanayaka Jun)

And this seriously concludes chapter six. But before closing I'd like to announce that I've 'just' began working on another fic, which will be in a similar climate to this story. More details soon.

Take care and have fun on Halloween.


	7. For Whom the Bells Ring?

**Urusai:** It's me again! And here's another interview to answer reviewers questions! Here goes: ... what, no questions? The only thing that seems to trouble the reviewers is what Naruto-sensei did at the end of the last chapter...

**Jackyl:** It'll be straighten now...

**Urusai:** So I guess that covers it... no, wait! Akimori-chan wants to know if guys write better then girl...

**Jackyl:** Coz they do... just kidding... I can't asnwer that... I did read few, good fics wrote by girls, so I don't think person's gender has anything to do here...

**_Special note to RaineJoyBringer :_** hey, you're the author of the fic that Shang placed in our C2, aren't you? Shang told me your story is really good. I'll stop by to read it and review it when I'll find some time. As for jutsu encyklopedia: I got the idea from Shang, only changed it a bit. Thanks for the review.

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** that other fic I told you about will be entitled "Naruto - Shinobies of Fire" and the first chapter should appear in the same time as this one. The climate is similar to this one, so you're welcome to check it out if you like.

Now, on to the story:

**Chapter #7: For Whom the Bells Ring?**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is laying under the tree and shurikens and kunai's are laying everywhere (some are stabbed into the tree)

Naruto picked out his kunai's and aimed them at the three rookies: "Allow me to show you something…" and with that he threw the knives at surprised gennins.

Jun began dodging the flying knives were as Urusai started deflecting them with his own kunai. As the weapon rain stopped, both of them were slammed to the ground, each by two Naruto's.

"Having a bigger number of men then your opponent and not using it is a waste" announced Naruto as the clones that were holding the rookies disappeared in the cloud of white smoke. "If you're a good tactician, then even with the band of gennins you can defeat a smaller group of skilled jounins…"

"And why are you telling us that?" asked Urusai, getting back to his feet.

"You guys still don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" demanded the blonde gennin.

"Then answer this: why do you think you attended this exam in the group of three?"

"Huh?" Urusai's eyebrows went up.

"You don't mean to say that…" began Ayame slowly.

"It's exactly as you pictured it" replied Naruto. "This test was never meant to test whether you're strong enough to be a gennin or not. If it was, then you'd all pass. The point of this exam was to test how good your teamwork is…"

"And just how were we supposed to work together?" yelled Urusai. "There were only two bells! We were to get them all together so that later on one of us would be left on ice?"

"That was the point of bringing only two bells" announced the blonde jounin. "To divide the group. Thanks to that I'd know which of you, even though the test was the way it was, wouldn't think about their lost, but work for the good of the whole team… but you guys all failed miserably on that part…"

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Urusai, already knowing the answer.

"For example you, Urusai" began Naruto. "You're easily pissed. And once you're angry, you forget about the whole world. You rush in without looking on others. That's the fastest way to get yourself killed and endanger the lives of your teammates…" and with that he turned to Kakashi's daughter: "Ayame, you wish to prove that you're worthy of the name Hatake, yet you do not share your father's ideals. You trust only yourself and you're closed for others. You must learn that there's no 'I' in team…" finally he placed his glare on the black-hair: "Jun, you're the worst of the three. You think you're the king of the world and that the other two are useless to someone with your skills. I learned the hard way that those who think they don't need anybody usually fall first…"

"So, now what?" asked Ayame, lowering her sight.

"Well, you guys failed" announced the blonde jounin. "And I really don't think there's a point in giving you another chance…"

"That's not fair, Naruto-sensei!" stated Urusai. "Give us one, last shot… we'll do it this time… You'll see…"

"Now that you know what's this test all about, the exam lost it's meaning…" replied Naruto coldly. "… but okay, I'll give you another chance… but if you'll blew this, there's no 'another time'… you fail this and you're going back to the Academy…"

"Ossu!" yelled the blonde gennin as he saluted.

-----------

"So, two teams already passed…" Kakashi said to himself as he looked at the two papers before him. "Team number eight and team number ten… heh, talk about deja-vu… I wonder if the third will be team number seven…"

-----------

"So what do we have to do?" asked Urusai a little excited.

"First you should regain some strength…" replied Naruto. "You can eat the lunches I brought we me… there's one 'but' though…"

"Already I don't like this…" announced Ayame.

"You shouldn't be worrying. You and Urusai can eat, but I don't want any of you to give anything to Jun…"

"WHAT?" Urusai's eyes widen.

"He made the worst impression on me… I don't like people who are over confident. I'll give him a second chance, but only if he won't eat. Moreover, if any of you guys will give him his lunch, you fail as well…"

"That's cruel, Naruto-sensei!" announced Ayame.

"I don't care…" responded the blonde jounin. "You see that rock in the middle of the glade? Names curved in it are the names of people who are called heroes… all of them sacrificed their lives in order to complete the mission and keep their teammates save… I respect them… and I pity people who show no will of cooperation with others… Jun belongs to that second group…"

The black-haired boy just lowered his sight.

"Regain your strength…" asked Naruto. "I'll see you guys in a hour…" and with that he was gone.

xxxxx

Both Urusai and Ayame were eating their lunch as Jun laid on the ground, staring at the sky.

The blonde gennin looked at his teammate and then at his lunch. After a moment of hesitation he came closer to the black-hair and giving him the food, he said: "Here…"

"Urusai, what are you doing?" Ayame yelled in panic. "Have you forgotten what Naruto-sensei said?"

"I remember…" replied the blonde. "… but we're supposed to be a team… and what kind of a teammate would I be, if I'd put some damn rank over my comrade?"

"You will always be Kodumbari…" announced Jun. "Get that thing away from me before I'll actually decide to eat it… keep in mind that if I do, you'll fail…"

"Just eat, dammit!"

"Urusai have a point" stated Ayame, as she walked closer to them. "We're a team now… our comrades should come first… if we split the two lunches on three, equal parts, none of us should get hungry…"

Jun just looked at them before he finally replied: "Fine, but let's do that quickly, before Naruto-sensei returns…"

"Too late…" they all heard a voice and as they turned to the left, they spotted Naruto standing with his arms crossed. "I warned you about giving Jun any food…"

"Then go ahead and fail us!" yelled Urusai. "We're not gonna abandon our teammate just to gain a rank! You said you respected people like that!"

"I did? Well, that's not the point right now… you broke the rules and thus you should suffer the consequences…" and with that he began performing a quick set of hand seals. As he finished, he took a deep breath and with letting the air out, he called out: "You guys pass!"

"Huh?" Urusai's eyebrows went up.

"How come?" asked Ayame, as she opened her eyes.

"People who doesn't care about their teammates are trash…" replied Naruto. "In Konoha, the Leaf shinobies are all family… lives of your comrades are top priority, even above the completion of the mission. Never forget that…"

Urusai smiled under his nose.

"The test is done!" announced the blonde jounin. "All three pass! Team number seven, starting tomorrow, you'll begin missions!"

"Yeah!" yelled Urusai as he jumped into the air, rising his hands.

"_I did it, dad…_" Ayame thought to herself.

Jun just walked after their new sensei. Their way of ninja has just began.

* * *

And so 7th chapter ends. Please leave a review when you're done reading 

Now another part of the jutsu encyklopedia:

**_Katon: Kasai Nankan_** (Fire Element: Fire Barrier) - jutsu invented by Jun. The user must first concentrate chakra in his feet and then, with the use of right seals, realese it in a form of a flame. The flames then surround the user, creating a fire barrier around him/her. (**Type: **ninjutsu, **Used by:** Hanayaka Jun).

And that ends this chapter completely. Hope you liked it. Seventh chappie will be on the way!

Take care and cya around.


	8. New Mission! Return to Wave Country

**Urusai:** And we're back!

**Jackyl:** My time's limited... do tell me what the reviewers wish to know and let the show begin...

**Urusai:** But there isn't seem to be much to it... the readers enjoyed the chapter and they await another update...

**Jackyl:** Okay, so here it is!

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** a lot of exams are coming and I propably won't be able to update for a longer while. It should get better around Christmas, but it's highly possible you won't be able to read new chapters for few weeks. Sorry for that, but I really have to study hard for what's coming.

**Chapter #8: New Mission! Return to the Wave Country**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Kakashi is standing on top of the Hokage Monument. On Tsunade's head to be more exact

Naruto gave Kakashi a report from his team's last mission. The Rokudaime read it quickly and then looked up at the rookie gennins.

"Alright team number seven, time for your new assignment…" announced the Hokage after a moment of silence.

"Just hope it'll be better then the last one…" stated Urusai. "How does paining a house suppose to make us stronger anyway?"

"And you expected to battle shinobies the moment you leave the Academy?" Naruto gave him a questioning glare. "Not only you're gennin, but a rookie ones for that matter. Fighting is out of the question for you guys right now…"

"But how long will we be getting such lame missions? Two, other teams become gennins except us! Can't they have some of those?"

"Actually, team number ten already took a mission of cutting down the trees for a nearby village" announced Kakashi. "They're preparing the town for winter…"

"Who cares?" replied the blonde gennin. "If they want, they can do lame missions like that. Give us something interesting, dammit!"

"Yeah pops, give us something more… challenging…" begged Ayame.

"_They're not showing me any respect, are they?_" the Rokudaime sweat dropped. "Listen, it's not that I don't want you to enter higher rank missions at all, but you guys aren't ready yet…"

"Oh yeah?" yelled Urusai, pointing at his instructor. "Naruto-sensei said that his team completed an A-rank mission when they were rookie gennins just like us!"

"You told them about that?" Kakashi's eyebrow went up, as he looked at the blonde jounin.

"It… must've escaped my mouth" replied Naruto with a smile. "Sorry, Kakashi-sama…"

"Guess there's really no helping it now…" sighed the Hokage. "But you guys still won't get an A-rank mission. You'll be able to see the place your sensei had his first, tough fight though. You'll be heading to the Wave Country…"

"So what's the mission objective?" asked Jun.

"You'll be transporting supplies for the people of that country… and Naruto… tell everyone I said 'hi'…"

"I will, Hokage-sama" replied the blonde as he bowed. "Okay team, let's go!"

"But Naruto-sensei, we don't know where the supplies we need to bring to the Wave Country are…" reminded Ayame as the instructor face fallen.

----------

"This will take forever!" complained Urusai as they exited Konoha gates on a wagon pulled by a single horse. On the wagon, except them, was lots of food and tools. "Can't we just grab the stuff and go on foot?"

"Do you seriously think you'll be able to carry at least ¼ of this stuff?" asked Naruto, not even turning to his subordinate.

The blonde gennin kept silent for a moment and then replied: "Okay, but why did we get such a lame mission? The Hokage is your father, Ayame-chan. Couldn't he gave us anything more challenging?"

"The Wave Country isn't so far away really…" announced the whisker-marks. "Getting there, even with this wagon, shouldn't take longer then a day or two. Once we give the supplies to the right people, we'll return on foot to the Leaf… this is a mission for a week at most…"

"Naruto-sensei…" began Jun. "How come you know so much about the Wave Country? What exactly happened during your first, A-rank mission?"

"Well…" the blonde jounin looked to the sky while he drifted away in his memories. "It all happened when I was around your age, actually. Kakashi-sama, me and my two teammates were protecting a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna… Gatou hired shinobies to kill him, because he feared Tazuna finishing his bridge…"

"Why was that bridge so important?" asked Ayame.

"It wasn't just any bridge… it was the lands chance of getting free from Gatou… and it'd remind the people of that country what courage is…"

"So what exactly happened?" this time Urusai got curious.

"A guy named Zabuza was send to kill Tazuna" responded Naruto. "And we stopped him… kinda…"

"Kinda?" repeated the blonde gennin.

"Haku, Zabuza's partner, sacrificed his life to save his comrade… later on Zabuza died while killing Gatou... they both died protecting someone important to them… and even though they were my enemies, they gave me a valuable lesson…"

At hearing that all three rookies went into silence and none of them even noticed a mysterious figure who watched them from above:

"_So this is the brat?_" the figure thought to itself. "_It'd seem like it, but I expected someone more… oh well, that's of no importance… guess I'm pretty lucky to get that shrimp out of the village without any trouble… only one jounin… taking him shouldn't be a problem…_"

The trip took the whole day (and was extremely boring in Urusai's words). Nothing really happened and team seven reached the Great Naruto Bridge without any trouble.

"The Great Naruto Bridge?" Ayame read the sign. "Looks like you're mighty famous here, Naruto-sensei…"

"Tazuna actually named the bridge after me?" the blonde jounin's eyebrow went up. "That's quite unexpected…"

"I see you actually kept your promise…" they suddenly heard a voice and turned the way it came from. Then they spotted a boy in his twenties with short, spiky, brown hair and black eyes. "Long time, no see, eh Naruto?"

"Well, it has been a while" replied the whisker-marks. "And you changed quite a bit… Inari."

Both of them smiled widely as they approached each other and shook hands.

"How have you been, Naruto?" asked the one called Inari. "I see you even manage to get your own bunch of kids… are they as strong as you were?"

"Maybe even better" replied the blonde. "And how are things going around here?"

"Well, since Gatou disappeared, the country returned to it's wealth" responded brown-hair. "But you'll be able to see it with your own eyes when you except my offer to stay for the night at my place…"

"Okay… as long as you'll have any ramen" and with that phrase he smiled even wider.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening" they all heard another voice and before anyone could act, Jun received a powerful blow in the stomach, which send him flying back. Luckily for him, Naruto was able to catch him before he hit the ground.

The blonde jounin then looked in the direction were the mysterious figure was standing. He was wearing a black cloak with purple flame painted on the back. The man had short, spiky, white hair and red eyes. His hands that were uncovered, were completely covered in bandages.

"_That symbol on his back…_" Naruto thought to himself. "_There's no doubt about it… but why is he here? Could he be after…?_"

"My name is Genko" announced the figure. "And I didn't came here to fight with you. I guess you know what my objective is, so why not just allow me to finish my mission and you can get back to yours…"

"Sorry, but that I cannot do…" replied the blonde jounin as he gave unconscious Jun to Inari. "Urusai, Ayame, stay out of this! This guy is way above your level… if you interfere, you'll only make things worse…"

"So you wish to fight me alone, even though you know who I am?"

"I'd say it's a bit different" responded Naruto. "I'm gonna fight you alone, coz I know who you are. Besides it's not like I don't have any chances…"

"Ah, yes…" nodded Genko. "The famous Uzumaki Naruto, crusher of the Akatsuki… but you should know Akatsuki was nowhere near our level…"

"So I heard… but this changes nothing…"

"As you wish then… I'll kill you and then complete my mission…"

"You're way to confident" announced Naruto. "I suggest you take me seriously" and with that he performed a quick set of hand seals. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

* * *

And so this chapter is finished! 

I'll cut this one rather short (sorry for skipping even the jutsu encyklopedia... I'll try to make it up to you guys next time).

Please, leave a review and till the next time!


	9. Symbol of the Black Flame

Okay, first: sorry to keep you waiting so long. I was extremely busy with my studies. I'd like to give a special thanks to Shang who helped me out with this chapter. If it wasn't for you, it probably wouldn't be finished yet.

Secondly: sorry to say this but my mid-terms are coming and it's highly possible I'll be too busy to write anything, so be prepared that you might have to wait till Feburary for the 10th chapter. Sorry guys, but I'm behind my studies.

Now, without further to do:

**Chapter #9: Symbol of Black Flame**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is drawing whisker marks on his cheek and right behind him stands Naruto a bit pissed

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" yelled Naruto and before anyone knew it, five blonde jounins appeared in the place of one.

"A simple Kage bushin?" Genko's eyebrow went up. "You think that such a basic skill will do you any good? I'll destroy those clones before they'll even lay a finger on me…"

"We'll see" replied the blonde jounin as his four clones charged right at the cloaked man.

The first clone threw a punch at the white-hair but his opponent easily dodged to the right and grabbed the clone by his hand. Before anyone could react to that, Genko used the clone he grabbed to bounce of and elbow another incoming Naruto.

The other, two clones grabbed him by his hands, one each and instantly the fifth Naruto jumped into the air, finishing the attack with a powerful punch. Surprisingly, Genko seemed completely unharmed by the blonde jounin's fist.

"That's all you're capable of?" the white-hair seemed surprised. "I was expecting more… much more…" and with those words he tossed the clones, which were holding hid hands, forward.

The clones disappeared in the cloud of white smoke as they hit the ground hard.

"How disappointing" announced Genko as he unleashed the storm of punches at the blonde. As the last punch connected, Naruto disappeared in the cloud of white smoke, thus making white-hair's eyes widen. "_What the…?_" was all he could say before a powerful orb of chakra hit his stomach and send him flying at the nearby tree, spinning wildly.

Genko slowly began to rise to his feet. His cloak was damaged pretty badly, as well as his body. The worst place was the stomach as blood was coming out of it in a big among.

"When did you…?" he began, but was instantly interrupted by Naruto:

"I spotted you even before we left Konoha. That's why I created one clone first. All that time it was just a clone that was traveling with my subordinates, while I watched you… in the end, you're the one that's disappointing…"

"_Naruto-sensei…_" Urusai thought to himself. "_You're strong!_"

"I underestimated you" admitted Genko. "But don't think you won… the fun has just began."

"And so you rhyme…" added Naruto, trying to piss his opponent of. And it worked.

In an instant Genko attacked the blonde with a kick in the face. Naruto was able to block that with his hand, but he still felt the impact of the kick pretty bad. Before he knew it, he was avoiding and blocking Genko's furious attacks and with every hit he blocked, his hands were hurting more and more.

"_What's with that strength?_" wondered Naruto as he kept backing away. "_Is this guy a medic-nin or something? I don't think even Tsunade would be able to hit that hard…_"

Finally he was late with the block and received a powerful punch in the face, which send him flying way back. The blonde crushed hard with a tree.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled Ayame after their instructor.

"_Even he cannot defeat this guy…_" Urusai began worrying. "_What shall we do? At this rate it's highly possible he'll kill us!_"

"And now for the finishing move…" announced Genko as he gather his chakra into his right fist. "I'll crush you…" and with that he charged at Naruto who was just getting back to his feet.

Noticing that his opponent gather most of his chakra into his right arm, the blonde jounin concentrated on dodging any attack that would came out of it.

But surprisingly for him, Genko came to a stop far away from him and simply punched the air. A second later Naruto was hit with a powerful, air impact and thrown at the trees once more. As he once more began standing to his feet, the white-hair charged at him again.

"_I see…_" Naruto thought to himself while biting his finger. "_So he actually released all this chakra into the air and send it in my direction… such force is hard to withstand… Neji used the same trick… but I thought that it's the technique know only to the gentle fist users and he certainly isn't one…_" and with that last thought he slammed his hand to the ground, yelling: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forward Gamabunta!"

And so, right before everyone's eyes, appeared a huge, red-skinned frog with a tobacco pipe in its mouth, wearing something that seemed like kimono and carrying a huge sword.

Genko stopped in his tracks and looked at the huge reptile that materialized itself in front of him. After a short shock, the white-hair smiled under his nose and turned to the blonde jounin:

"And you think this will save you?"

"Hey, Gama, would you mind showing that bastard he should not make fun of you?" Naruto completely ignored Genko and address the line to the toad.

:"My pleasure…" replied the reptile as he picked out his katana and cut from the right, aiming to cut the white-hair in half.

Surprisingly for everyone, Genko just stick out his fist and before everyone's eyes the sword broke into pieces as it connected with the white-hair hand.

"Wha…?" was all the toad could say at the sight.

"_He's not human!_" shivers run down Ayame spine as she observed the pieces of the huge blade falling around the area.

Before anyone could get out of the shock, Genko charged at Naruto and Gamabunta and with a single hit he knocked down the huge frog, thus making it disappear in the cloud of white smoke.

The blonde jounin landed safely on the ground, completely amazed: "_I knew that Black Flame members are strong but this much? This is above the whole ANBU squad! Possibly above any of the Five Shadows!_"

"What's going on?" asked Jun as he began regaining consciousness.

"Naruto-sensei is fighting the guy that knocked you out" responded Urusai simply.

"And it seems he's losing" added Inari.

"_Naruto-sensei… is losing?_" Jun's eyes widen as he looked in the direction they all were staring.

"Now what?" asked Genko. "Without that frog of yours you're out of tricks?"

"Don't count me out just yet…" replied the blonde jounin. "I still have few…" and with that he began performing new hand seals. "Doton: Ishi Akuryoku!" and suddenly a huge, stone hand appeared right under Genko.

The white-haired jumped into the air, thus avoiding being grabbed, but before he knew it, four clones of the blonde jounin surrounded him.

"U-ZU-MA-KI!" yelled the clones as each of them launched Genko higher into the air by kicking him from below. "NARUTO Rendan!" called out the original as he slammed his leg into white-hair's head, thus sending his crushing to the ground.

"_With that damn endurance of his I doubt if I really hurt him…_" Naruto thought to himself as he landed on the ground. "_But he had to at least felt that…_"

Genko slowly got up, shaking some rocks of his cloak. He gave the blonde jounin emotionless glare and then began moving towards the leaf-nin.

"How come he is unharmed?" yelled Ayame, frightened by the look.

"It probably has something to do with his abilities…" replied Jun without even looking at the kunoichi. "I doubt he's a medic-nin, coz he didn't used any jutsus typical for them… his strength resembles one though…"

"So what type of jutsus does this guy uses?" asked Urusai.

"How should I know?" responded the young Hanayaka. "All I know that this guy is far above our level… and he could kill all four of us in less then a minute…"

"Uzumaki Naruto…" announced Genko as he was just few meters away from the blonde jounin. "You have to do better then that… I was expecting a bigger challenge while fighting you… you're supposed to be one of Konoha's strongest ninja's… are Leaf shinobies that weak to consider you strong?"

"Well, you do have a point… I should put more heart into it…" Naruto smiled under his nose. "But before I get serious, there's this one, last thing I wish to try out…" and with that he started a new set of hand seals.

* * *

Okay, I have to cut it here. Sorry, but there won't be jutsu encyklopedia this time around, coz, as I wrote, my free time is really limited. 

Hope you enjoyed that chappie. Please read and review.

Also, hope that this year will be MUCH better then the previous one for all of you!

See ya.


	10. One on One

It's been a while since the last update, hasn't it? Sorry for the long wait, my exams are killing me… and the worst part is that they're not over yet (and won't be for another week or so). I did manage to dig out enough free time today to write this. It's a bit rushed and I didn't manage to double check it, but it didn't turned out that bad, I think…

To answer the reviews: you'll find out about Urusai's bloodline limit later on (don't wanna tell you when to not spoil). Just be patient.

As for that frog goof-up: sorry, I'm not the expert in biology… besides, blame Shang, he's the one who wrote in his fic that Gama was a reptile… I only copied his mistake… well, I'll keep in mind that he's not… I hope…

Now off to the story:

**Chapter #10: One on One**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naruto and Urusai are eating ramen at the Ichiraku

"I really should put more heart into it…" nodded Naruto. "But before that, I want to try this one, last trick…" and with that he began a new chain of hand seals. Once he finished, he took a deep breath and when letting the air go, he called out: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Instantly a huge fireball came right at Genko. Whitehead immediately jumped back, avoiding being burnt to a crisp, he could however dodge the kick that Naruto landed on him while he was still in mid-air.

After crushing hard to the ground, Genko slowly began getting back to his feet, throwing the blonde a death glare: "After all that still the best you can do is a lame trick like that?" he smirked but instantly stopped smiling when he felt a large chakra source appearing nearby. "_That much… when did he…?_"

Young gennins and Inari looked with both shock and fear at the real Naruto, who was standing right behind the clone that kicked Genko to the ground a second ago. His body was now surrounded with chakra which formed claws on his hands and a tail coming from the bottom of his back. His eyes turned red and his whisker-marks became more visible.

"_Right, he's a Jinchuuriki…_" Genko reminded himself, trying to stay calm, which was difficult under such a chakra pressure. "_Kyuubi or whatever that damn fox name was… if he's able to control that, I may have a bit more problems in defeating him then I had till now…_"

"_Is that…_" began Ayame, shocked at the sight. "…_Naruto-sensei?_"

"I've grown bored of this game" announced the whisker-marks. "Lets finish this…" and with that he jumped right at Genko at incredible speed. Such incredible, his opponent didn't even manage to move out of the way and received a powerful blow in the gut, that send him flying at a tree.

Once his feet touched the ground, Naruto held out his hand and to everyone's surprise his chakra hand, ended with claws shoot right at Genko. White-haired man's eyes widen as chakra claws pierced his hands and legs. For the first time he let out a scream of pain.

"Such speed and strength…" said Jun to no-one in particular. "_He didn't even shown us one tenth of his true strength during survival training… are all jounins that strong?_"

"_Dammit, at this rate he'll actually defeat me…_" cursed Genko as he held his wound closed. "_But when he's in that state… the only thing I can do is make him change back to normal… shouldn't be that hard…_" and with that a smirk appeared on his face.

"Either you have no idea of your situation or you have a new strategy…" noticed Naruto when he looked at his opponent. "However it won't help you…"

'We'll see…" replied Genko simply, still smiling.

A second later Naruto jumped into the air with his claws aimed at the white-haired man's head. Genko jumped to the left, avoiding the hit, yet as soon as chakra claws reached the ground, they lifted tons of small rocks into the air, creating a rocky rain.

Before anyone knew it, Genko launched a punch at Naruto's face and the moment it connected, blonde's head turned a little to the left, however there was no, other effect.

"_His strength and persistence increased as well…_" stated the white head. "_Then my typical techniques won't work anymore… this is the only way…_" and with that thought he reached for his pocket.

But he wasn't able to do anything more as chakra palm pushed him back at the rock and forced him against it. As blood drip out of his mouth, he threw a soldier pill into his mouth.

Instantly chakra in his body started to increase and soon he broke free out of Naruto's grip, ripping his claws into bits.

The leaf-nin grabbed his hand but a moment later his chakra palm got back to the way it was. The whisker-marks looked at his opponent and prepared another attack. "_Having so much strength he still uses soldier pills? So the source of his strength wasn't them in the first place… what is his ability then?_"

"Naruto-sensei is awesome!" yelled Urusai, rising his hands. "And your father has to be even stronger, Ayame-chan! Damn, I gotta get to training if I wanna surpass them…"

"Whatever…" replied Jun. "But this is serious… Naruto-sensei's chakra isn't a normal one."

"You noticed that too, huh?" asked Ayame. "How is this possible? I mean, he unleashed such strength and yet it fills me with fear just to stand here and observe it…"

"I know what you mean…" nodded Urusai. "But that's still Naruto-sensei… he wouldn't use something he doesn't have control over… right?" but no-one dared to answer that.

Naruto charged at Genko once more, but this time he jumped into the air right before the surprised white-haired man and after landing behind him, he slashed his claws through his back.

Genko left out a yell of pain, yet turned around instantly and before anyone knew it, he placed a tag with a strange symbol on it. Before everyone's eyes, Naruto's chakra body started to fade away and the blonde himself seemed to get weaker and weaker.

"What the…?" began Urusai, but before he could finish, Ayame answered his question:

"It's that tag. Most likely it absorbs chakra… since that thing surrounding Naruto-sensei's body was made out of chakra, it's only natural it disappears. But the tag's probably eating on his whole chakra and that also includes the one that is his life supply…"

"All that strength and you wanna tell me all that is required is some stupid tag?" blonde gennin asked in disbelieve.

"This is bad…" announced Jun without paying too much attention to the blonde. "If Naruto-sensei looses, we're dead…"

Genko landed a powerful blow on the blonde jounin's face, thus sending him flying back and crushing hard into a tree. Naruto slowly started to get back on his feet, breathing heavily and looking his opponent.

"What the hell is that thing?" he asked without letting the white-haired man off his sight. "Why can't I take it off myself? Isn't that a typical, chakra drain tag?"

"Well, the usage is pretty much the same, but Kikai made special… improvements to it" replied Genko with a smile. "It can only be taken off by a special unsealing method. I know it, but I don't feel like telling it to you…"

"_This is bad…_" Naruto thought to himself. "_I didn't expected Black Flame members to be that skilled… this one has inhuman strength and that whole Kikai guy seems like an expert in sealing jutsus… I can't afford to waste chakra and the longer I have this thing on my head, the weaker I get… either I'll finish this in the next move or this could be the end…_"

"Well, I had some fun, I'll give you that" announced Genko. "You were one of the strongest I've faced so far, but I believe it's time to put an end to this…" and with that he charged at the blonde at an incredible speed.

But to everyone's surprise a mysterious figure jumped in between the two of them and kicking Genko in the face it send him flying back a few meters before he came to a sliding stop.

As the white-haired man raised his head, he noticed that the one who attacked him was Urusai.

"What the hell are you doing?" yelled Naruto at his student. "You should be aware of the fact that you guys are no match for him! This battle was over the moment he placed that tag on my head! Run away while you still can!"

"Leaf shinobies don't leave their comrades behind!" replied Urusai, looking at Genko. "You tough us that yourself, Naruto-sensei…"

"My father showed me some of the sealing methods…" announced Ayame as she came closer to their instructor. "Maybe one of them will be able to get rid of this thing… all Urusai and Jun need to do is keep that guy occupied for few minutes…"

"And that can be done…" finished Jun.

"You're too sure of yourselves, brats…" announced Genko with a smirk. "Let me clear something for you: the only reason your kick had such an effect on me was because I got careless and lowered my resistance. I can promise you that from now on your punches won't do any damage to me…"

"We'll see about that…" replied Urusai calmly.

"_Damn, I cannot allow that brat to die…_" cursed Genko, looking at the blonde gennin. "_This is a bit more problematic then I thought… oh well, nothing stands in my way to kill the other brats…_" and with that thought he charged right at Urusai and Jun.

* * *

And that ends this chappie. Hope you liked it. 

Sorry for no jutsu encyclopedia, but my time is really limited. I should be able to make one next time.

See ya all and till the next time.


	11. Steal the Spotlight

Thanks for all, encouraging reviews. I managed to write down this chapter after I returned home from the exam and so I'm submitting. Tomorrow I'm going away for a well-deserted week holiday but when I return I hope to submit the twelve (not promising I'll manage though).

With that said, I think we may go on with the story:

**Chapter #11: Steal the Spotlight**

**_Chapter Cover:_** picnic: Urusai is eating ramen, Jun lays under a tree and Ayame is smelling flowers nearby

Genko charged right at Urusai and Jun. "_I can't kill the blonde brat, but that friend of his is another story…_" and with that thought a smirk appeared on his face.

Jun instantly performed a quick set of hands seals and with the last symbol he called out: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!" and suddenly a huge ball of fire left his mouth and connected right with the charging shinobi.

Urusai wasted no time and instantly performed his own technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and as the smoke cleared and Genko could be seen putting out the fire from his clothes, tens of the blonde clones charged at him, all with their fists ready.

The white-haired man quickly realized what was going on and began attacking the clones, making them disappear in the clouds of white smoke one by one.

Suddenly one of the clones jumped on his back, making him fall to the ground. Soon after the rest of the clones followed the first tracks, each of them calling out: "Urusai Kasane!" A moment later Genko disappeared under tens of Urusai's.

"Urusai Kasane?" repeated Jun, sweat dropping. "What kind of a dumb jutsu is that? Is that the best you can do?"

"Hey, we just need to hold him off until Ayame-chan will take that tag of Naruto sensei…" reminded the blonde. "This technique is perfect for that…"

"Sorry to break your hopes then…" they both heard Genko's voice and a second later all Urusai clones were send flying into the air as the white-haired man lowered his right hand.

"_With that much strength…_" Inari shivered against his own will. "_Those guys have no chances at defeating that monster…_"

"Come on, put some more heart into it…" smiled Genko. "I know you can do better…"

"Just watch!" yelled Urusai irritated as he once more performed kage bushin. Instantly his clones surrounded the man and after performing sets of hand seals, all of them called out at once: "Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu!" and fire spikes shoot at Genko from every direction.

The white-haired man just stood there smiling as all the attacked reached his body and he disappeared behind a great wall of fire which soon turned into smoke.

Urusai dispelled his clones and smiled under his nose. "Done…"

However, when the smoke cleared, both him and Jun saw Genko standing right in front of them, almost unharmed.

"_How could he withstand that?_" Jun's eyes widen. "_He should be just ashes now…_"

"How disappointing…" smirked Genko. "Is this really the best Konoha can do? Uragiri-sama gave you too much credit… It's no fun anymore, so I guess I'll be finishing this…" and with that he charged right at the two gennins.

Jun got paralyze. Nothing worked on that opponent. What else could they do? Then he turned hi gaze at Urusai who seemed totally pissed now. His eyes became surprisingly dark as the blonde walked forward and once more performed the Fire Lance.

Genko only smiled at the fire spike hit him, but his smirk instantly disappeared the moment he felt the heat. "What the…?" was all he could say as the fire didn't seem to burn out.

"_How is this…?_" Jun's eyes widen even more. "_For a moment there I could've sworn Urusai's flame was… different…_"

"_Damn, did he unleashed it?_" Naruto cursed to himself as he observed the whole fight, not being able to move. Ayame just tried another unsealing method on him, but this one didn't work either. "Ayame, hurry up…" he said in an ordering tone as he got back to watching the fight.

"_Naruto-sensei's expression seem to change…_" noticed the kunoichi. "_What just happened that got him so much worried?_"

"_That brat…_" Genko looked at the two, young gennins that stood in front of him. "_Was it the thing that Uragiri-sama talked about? But if so then why does this kid is capable of doing it?_" and with that he held his burnt arm as pain still shoot from it.

"How did you do that?" Jun finally was able to ask.

"What do you mean?" Urusai gave him a questioning glare, his eyes normal again. "It's just Fire Lance… I used it against you when we fought each other, you should know how it works by now…"

"_Could it be that the brat activated it without even knowing about it?_" Genko's eyes widen.

"Anyways, it seems that you finally understood that you shouldn't underestimate us…" said the blonde gennin, pointing a finger at the white-haired man. "Now leave before we'll kick you ass!"

"Let me explain something to you, kid…" replied Genko. "You only wounded me because I didn't expect you to activate your flame. Now that I know you're capable of that, I'll simply avoid all your attacks, so you won't even hit me again. If you'd use a more powerful jutsu that time, you might have defeated me, but now you just lost your last chance… do not think that girl will be able to take the tag of your sensei… the only people who know the right unsealing method are Black Flame members, because Uragiri-sama was the one who invented it… there's no way someone will know how to do it besides us…"

"And I'm telling you Ayame-chan will do it…" responded Urusai calmly. "And Jun and I will stop you…"

"Seem that this little success made you overconfident… allow me to bring you down to Earth…" and the moment he said so, he disappeared from the two gennins sight.

A second later both of them received a powerful hit in the back, which send them flying at the trees. Urusai hit hard, Jun however manage to land on his feet and sprung back with his kunai ready.

Once he flew close enough to Genko, he cut from the left, the white-haired man however just bended down, thus making the young genius miss. As Jun flew right above him, Genko turned around and gave him a kick in the chin, thus sending him flying into the air.

The man prepared himself to land a powerful blow in Jun's stomach, however Urusai charged right at him which forced Genko to dodge several kunai.

As he turned around to the blonde, he only smirked and rammed him with his elbow. Urusai was send flying back, but to Genko's surprise, once he found himself in kid-air, the blonde gennin disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

"Gotcha!" yelled Urusai as he stabbed his kunai with an explosive tag into Genko's rear. "Sennen Goroshi!" and instantly he jumped away as the tag exploded, lifting up tons of dirt.

"How come you know this?" asked Jun a bit pissed. "Naruto-sensei promised me he won't tell anyone about that…"

"What's the difference?" replied the blonde. "The important thing is I manage to slow him down a bit…"

"Sorry to disappoint you again, kid!" yelled Genko as he charged at the two at an incredible speed. Jun only manage to form a block before the white-haired man reached the place they were standing, however he got blown away by a mysterious chakra.

"What the…?" began the young genius and instantly understood what happened.

Urusai turned around and saw Naruto back on his feet with red chakra surrounding him again. Ayame stood right next to their sensei with the tag held in her hand.

"How in the world did that brat…?"

"She's the daughter of the current Hokage, Hatake Kakashi…" Naruto explained. "I'm pretty sure you are aware of the fact that he fought your master many years ago. Kakashi-sama also possess the Sharingan in his left eye which allows him to copy seals and jutsus… I'm guessing that during the duel Uragiri used the unsealing method for some reason and Kakashi just copied it… then he showed it to Ayame, so she'd know what to do… at least that's my guess…"

"Well, it's not of any, really importance anyways…" smirked Genko. "So I guess our fight continues… only this time I'll finish you off quickly and then take care of the brats…"

"I don't think so…" replied the blonde jounin. "You see, I managed to figure out why you're so strong and resistant… with that knowledge I also know how to defeat you…"

"Really?" smiled the white-haired man. "Lets check your theory then…" and at that both of them charged at each other once more.

* * *

And so the eleventh chapter ends. Hope you liked it.

Now, I'm still short on free time, but I really haven't done this in a long while, so here's the next issue of jutsu encyclopedia:

**Katon: Kasai Arashi no Jutsu** (Fire Element: Firestorm Sill) – a powerful technique for which, in order to work, the user must first gather chakra in his mouth and the release it in the form of the fire, by performing the right hand seals. The released fire surrounds the target, creating something like a fire cage with no way out (**type:** ninjutsu** used by:** Kodawari Urusai).

And with that this chapter is done. I hope you guys won't have to wait too long for the next.

See ya.


	12. Fulfilling the Promise

Everyone thanks for encouraging words… I just returned from vacation and finished typing this so I decided to place it ASAP… I even manage to make this chappie longest so far (at least that's what I think)… Once more there will be jutsu encyclopedia and since there weren't any questions in reviews (or I missed them) I think we can get straight to the point:

**Chapter #12: Fulfilling the Promise**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naruto dressed like Kakashi used to, with a headband falling on his left eye

"You know where my strength comes from, eh?" repeated Genko. "Even if that is so, what gives you the idea that that'll be enough to defeat me?"

"As my sensei once said…" replied Naruto. "I'm not the type of guy who falls for the same trick twice. I won't let you place that damn tag on me again and we both know even you can't withstand the power of the Kyuubi…"

"Power of the Kyuubi?" Ayame looked surprised. "Isn't that the fox that attack Konoha over thirty years ago? What did Naruto-sensei meant by that?"

"Wait, what's with that Kyuubi-fellow again?" asked Urusai confused.

"What are you, an idiot?" Kakashi's daughter yelled at her teammate. "Weren't you listening at all during history lessons? It's a nine-tailed fox demon that almost destroyed the Leaf thirty years ago! It got defeated by the Yondaime Hokage!"

"Oh, that…" the blonde scratched him head as he smiled. "I got kinda bored after the first, five minutes, so I decided to take a nap…"

"Above Urusai's ignorance…" Jun interrupted the quarrel. "What's important is that the fox is supposed to be destroyed… so how come Naruto-sensei claims he's using its power?"

"Okay then, lets see if you'll be able to catch me on the same trick twice…" replied Genko. "Come…" and the moment he said so Naruto charged at him, appearing right before his face before he was even able to make a move.

Instantly Genko received a powerful hit in a chin that send him flying into the air. A second later Naruto was already above the defenseless shinobi and extending his chakra arm he pushed the white-haired man crushing into the ground hard.

Genko slowly got back to his feet with blood coming from his mouth as his face showed that he's seriously pissed. But the moment he stood up straight, he received another, powerful attack in the back from Naruto's claws that made his scream in pain.

"You use something that can be called a link that unites the skills of Hyuuga and the medic-nins" announced Naruto as Genko felt on his knees before him. "You surround your entire body with chakra, thanks to which you become much more resistant to any, physical attack and most chakra based techniques… that also gives you inhuman strength as your energy is concentrated in your hands and at any time you can concentrate more but taking some of your 'chakra armor' to the hand… however I know both the Hyuuga and medic-nins very well, so I know that those sort of abilities have their weaknesses…" and with that he gave Genko a powerful kick, which send him flying at a nearby rock.

"_So this is how he did it?_" Jun was quite surprised. "_But shouldn't such a chakra armor be visible to us, just like that energy surrounding Naruto-sensei? But the fact that he has some medic-nin skills explains why he got out from most of our attacks unharmed and why he's so strong… yet, with what he shown so far it seems that he's way above any medic-nin I know… this guy is really something…_"

"The demon chakra that's surrounding me can neutralize your own chakra armor…" continued the blonde jounin as he walked closer to his opponent who found it hard standing up this time. "And gives me a similar advantages you have, like instant healing or increased strength… to put it simply I'm now somewhat a better version of you…"

"_This guy…_" Genko thought to himself as he looked at Naruto. "_At my current state I won't be able to withstand that… but now that I know how this whole Kyuubi thing works, I should be able to defeat him… I need to retreat and get back my energy…_" and with that he jumped away, however he was caught by Naruto's chakra hand before he reached the nearest tree.

"I won't let you escape" announced the blonde jounin. "I should take you for interrogation, however you'd probably regain enough strength to escape before we'd reach Konoha so I guess it's best to strike you down now and bring your corpse to the village… we'd still be able to get some information about the Black Flame anyways…"

"Well, you surprised me with your strength this time around…" replied Genko with a smirk. "That's one for you, but next time I'll know how to fight you and it won't be so easy for you to strike me down when I'll recover from this fight…"

"I already told you" interrupted Naruto. "There won't be next time…" and with that he planned to squish the white-haired man in his chakra palm, but surprisingly for him it got cut of by a strange, white lighting. "What the…?" was all he could say before Genko disappeared in the bushes.

"After him!" yelled Urusai, but they were instantly stopped by their sensei:

"It's pointless… even when he's in that state your chances of defeating him are rather low…" and with that he felt to his knee. "_Besides that lighting just now… the sky is completely clean so it wasn't done by nature… someone was here just a second ago and he helped that Genko guy escape… to cut a chakra hand with your own technique… whoever it was, that wasn't your average shinobi…_" and with that he collapsed to the ground.

"Naruto, what's going on?" asked Inari who came running to him.

"It's nothing, I just used too much chakra…" replied the blonde with a smile. "Even Kyuubi has some limits when he's weakened by the seal…"

"_So it was the Kyuubi…_" thought Ayame as Urusai and Jun helped their sensei get up. "_But how did Naruto-sensei get the demon's chakra… and how can he control it?_"

"Well, returning to your village now is out of the question" announced Inari. "Come on, I'll take to my house. You'll be able to rest a little there…" and with that said the leaf-nins followed the young man.

Inari's home turned out to be a quite large house made out of wood in an old, Japanese style. As he slid open the door, they were welcomed by a girl that seemed only a bit younger then the man with long, black hair and red eyes. She was wearing a white t-shirt and long, black skirt.

"Kumiko-chan, this is Uzumaki Naruto, the one I told you so much about…" announced Inari as they entered the house, pointing at the jounin.

"So, you're the hero that Inari's father named his bridge after?" asked the woman in a sweet voice.

"That what it seems" replied Naruto, managing a weak smile. "But may I ask who are you?"

"Right, I totally forgot" Inari smacked himself on the head. "Naruto, this is my wife, Kumiko"

"Your wife?" the jounin's eyes widen as he felt on the face due to the fact that both Urusai and Jun let him go and he was too weak to stand by himself.

Ayame just sweat dropped as she observed her teammates staring at the young woman with shining eyes. She then, with the help from Inari, placed her sensei on a bed.

"So, who was that guy anyway?" Inari finally asked when all of them gathered for dinner.

"If you're worrying about your country, then let me assure you there's no need…" replied the blonde. "That guy had no business with the Wave what so ever and the moment we'll be gone, he won't appear even near this town anymore…"

"So what is he after then?" asked Urusai.

"Could he be after…" began Jun, but instantly stopped as he noticed the look on Naruto's face.

"I'm not sure what he's after, but it seems he wants something from us, so the sooner we get back to the village, the sooner this country will be free of the problem, so we'll be heading back the moment I'll regain strength" announced the jounin.

"When will that be?" asked Ayame.

"Before night falls, I guess…" came a response.

"So soon?" Inari seemed disappointed. "I was hoping that we talk…"

"Another time, Inari… I promise" assured Naruto. "_That white thunder… I don't know what it was, but if I'll have to face both that Genko guy and the thunder user at the same time, it's highly possible I won't manage to defeat them…_"

----------

"You disappointed us a bit, Genko… sensei" came a voice and as the white-haired man looked behind him he noticed three children: two boys and a girl.

The one who spoken was a boy with medium-length, blue hair and blue eyes. He wore a light blue, sleeveless shirt and white pants. He carried a long spear on his back and had a headband with fire on it, slashed with straight line.

The second boy had spiky, brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a green waistcoat on that. He had baggy, black pants and wore the same hitae-ate like the first as a belt.

The last one of the three was a girl with long, brown hair, made into dreadlocks, with black eyes, wearing a black t-shirt with a brown waistcoat on it. She wore long, black pants and carried a huge, black nunchuck.

"I got careless…" replied the man simply. "But next time he won't be able to surprise me with that damn demon power of his… and by the way, thanks for freeing me, Hekireki…"

"Don't mention it" responded the blue-haired boy. "So, now what?"

"I should recover before this day ends…" announced Genko. "When that happens, we'll give it another try… I'll be counting on you guys to take care of the brats… kill the girl and that raven-hair if you wish, but remember that the blonde must stay alive…"

"Guess I'll have to take care of him then…" sighed the brown-haired boy. "You're too… energetic to take him alive…"

"No, Hongen" ordered the one called Hekireki. "You and Ouda can play with the other brats, but the Kodawari kid is mine… among them all, this one is the most important for Uragiri-sama… keep that in mind…"

"Relax, Hongen-kun…" said the girl, obviously Ouda. "At least we're allowed to kill…"

"Yeah…" replied the brown-haired boy with a smirk. "Who knows, maybe we'll have some fun? Didn't had that in a long time…"

* * *

And that's that for now. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review or something.

Now for the jutsu encyclopedia:

**Urusai Kasane** (Urusai Pile) – this 'jutsu' can only be preformed after Kage Bushin… to put it simply: all the clones jump at the opponent, forcing him to the ground. As Urusai said it himself it's mostly to slow the enemy down (**type: **theoretically it's taijutsu, but Kage Bushin is a ninjutsu so I'm not sure** used by:** Kodawari Urusai)

And with that this chapter really is done.

Take care and see ya next time!


	13. Silence before the Storm

Okay, sorry for making this a bit longer then usual (meaning the wait)… first week of the new semester turned out to be my worst so far and I had to copy some notes to keep up with the material… I got sick and couldn't even get out of bed till Sunday. I did manage to convince Shang to sit down and help me write this chapter... since he agreed, I'm now uploading it.

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** Before I go any further, I have a request: do try out Shang's fic "Next Generation" and review if you can, coz I heard he's thinking about putting it on hold and it'd be a shame in my opinion. The story has a really similar climate to this one, so you should enjoy it (when you're at it, you might also wanna try his "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire"... that's also a fic about the new generation of shinobies).

Now, to answer the reviews: the only question asked was 'why are they after Urusai'… well, I'd prefer to keep it to myself for the time being, but I can promise you it'll be revealed later on… for now I'll just say it has something to do with his bloodline limit.

And with that behind, here's the newest chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #13: Silence before the Storm**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Ayame is walking around in the garden with a watering can in her hands

Naruto walked out of the house and stretched himself. The sky was slowly getting covered by large, black clouds. The storm was coming. The jounin looked in the direction of a nearby forest and then lowered his sight slightly.

"Naruto-sensei, you regained your strength already?" he heard Ayame's voice and only then noticed the young kunoichi stepping outside the house. "Were you going somewhere?"

"Yeah…" nodded the blonde. "I'll disappear for about half an hour… when I get back, we'll head back to Konoha…"

"Then wouldn't it be better if we go immediately?" asked Kakashi's daughter. "What will happen if that Genko guy shows up when you're not around, Naruto-sensei?"

"About that you shouldn't worry your head…" replied the jounin as he placed his hand on her head and kneeled down. "Thanks to a little… present I got from the Yondaime Hokage, I'm able to sense enemies… I'll know when he'll get close, just like I noticed when we were leaving the Leaf… I'll reach you before he'll show up… besides, even with his abilities, with the damage I left him, he shouldn't be able to fight until tomorrow morning… we'll be long gone till then…" with that he stood back on his feet. "Well, I'll be going now…"

"Naruto-sensei, I have one, last question to ask you…" announced Ayame, gaining his attention. "That white-haired man… he was after Urusai, wasn't he? What did he want with him?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure…" replied Naruto, deciding it's useless to hide it. "I have a guess, but nothing above that… at any rate you and Jun are right: their target is Urusai. Don't tell him that though… right now it's the worst thing you could do…"

"Why? Wouldn't it be better if he'd find out?"

"Okay, I'll explain it like this…" began the blonde. "Lets pretend you did told him… in that case he may do something stupid like run away in order to keep you guys safe, thus making himself an easy target… or what's worse, the next time we'd run into the members of the organization Genko is in, he may rush at them, wanting to find out why they target him, thus putting us all in danger… with Urusai's temper, it's better if he doesn't know yet…"

"I see…"

"Okay, I'll be back in an hour or so…" and with that he was gone.

"_Why is Urusai so important?_" Ayame wondered as she got back inside the house.

"Hey, Ayame-chan, where's Naruto-sensei?" asked the blonde gennin the moment she entered. "I wanted him to help me train a bit…"

"You should pack your stuff, coz we'll be leaving in an hour…" replied the kunoichi.

"Really?" Jun was a bit surprised. "But the storm is coming… we won't make it to Konoha before it starts… it'd be better if we wait until it's over here…"

"Naruto-sensei said we're going, so we better listen…" responded Ayame as she sat on the floor and propped against the wall.

"_Guess he went to visit them…_" figured Inari as he got back to reading the book.

----------

"Naruto and his team still haven't returned, Rokudaime-sama?" asked Iruka as he walked into the Hokage office, bowed and close the door.

"Not yet…" replied the Coping Ninja simply.

"Do you think something happened, Kakashi-sama?"

"I don't know… but even if, I'm sure Naruto can handle it…" and then silence fell between the two, broken by Kakashi after few minutes: "Did you hear that Black Flame has appeared again? I've received reports from few hidden villages that the members of that organization were seen in distant parts of the world…"

"Why are you telling me this, Hokage-sama?"

"My assumption is… that one of their targets is Kodawari Urusai…"

"It'd make sense, since Uragiri is their leader, but why would he show interest in Urusai now? It's been over twelve years already…"

"I don't know why would he want Urusai, but that is something he have to find out… when Naruto comes back, ask him why was he delayed… I'm sure he'll talk freely with you… and do inform the ANBU I want them to keep a look out for any, possible Black Flame members… we cannot allow the same thing happening twice…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama…" Iruka bowed and with that left the office, leaving the Rokudaime looking outside the window:

"_Ayame, I hope you're okay…_"

----------

Naruto stood before the two graves. One had a huge sword stabbed into it and the other got surrounded by flowers. He smiled under his nose at the sight: "_You were always so girly, Haku…_" and with that he place the flowers he held in his hand on the smaller grave.

"It's been eighteen years already…" Naruto said to himself. "Boy, how time flies… before I even noticed I'm already old…" with that he smiled to himself slightly. "You know, I often wonder how'd it be if things would go differently that time… history has a funny way of repeating itself… but you guys will be happy to hear that I still haven't broken a promise I gave you that day…" just then the rain began to fall.

Naruto looked to the sky and stood like this for a while, before returning his gaze to the graves: "This time it was your turn, eh Zabuza?" and with that his senses warned him of an enemy nearby. "I have to go… sorry guys…" and with that he was gone.

----------

"Oh, it started raining…" noticed Ouda as she held out her hand.

"This should be quite convenient for you guys…" saying so Genko turned to his male subordinates. "You may go and play with the brats… I'm going to kill that damn Jinchuuriki… once you're done with your opponent, head back to the hideout… I'll met you there… dismissed!" and with that all of them disappeared.

----------

Naruto ran through the town before he spotted Genko appearing right in front of him, blocking his way. The white-haired smirked and got into his fighting stance: "I know it's still kinda early, but let's have a rematch already… I just can't help enjoying this…"

"Out of my way…" ordered the blonde. "If you'll move now, I won't kill you…"

"And if I don't?" replied Genko with a smile.

"Then I'll rip you into pieces!" and with that Naruto's eyes turn red, his whisker-marks became visible and red chakra started to surround his body.

"So, using the Kyuubi again? And so soon… well, I guess it's understandable, but allow me to just say this: last time you got me with a surprise and those brats helped you out… you won't be able to defeat me this time…"

"People who talk big… are usually extremely weak…" announced the blonde jounin as he jumped right at the white-haired man.

----------

"Are you sure?" asked Jun as he and Urusai jumped onto the nearest roof top.

"I'm telling you there was someone hiding behind that house!" replied the blonde gennin right before he received a powerful thunder into his chest, which send him crushing against a wall of a building tens of meters away.

"Urusai!" yelled Jun and was about to ran to his friend when all of a sudden Hongen appeared before his eyes.

"Sorry kiddo, but your opponent will be me…" announced the new arrival with his arms crossed. "If you don't like it, though luck…" and instantly the missing-nin began his chain of hand seals.

----------

"Thunders already?" Ayame was a bit surprised as she looked out the window from Inari's house. "And so close too… this doesn't seem too natural to me…"

"Don't worry, storms happen quite often in our country…" announced Inari. "But in most cases there's nothing to worry about…" and the moment he said so the wall behind him exploded. "What the…?"

"Nothing to worry about?" repeated Ouda who stepped out of the dust that arose with the explosion. "Well, you may have a point… I'm here for the brat, so as long as you won't interfere, you'll keep your life…"

Ayame just looked at the kunoichi surprised and then reached for her shuriken hostel.

----------

"Dammit, what the hell was that?" yelled Urusai, struggling back to his feet. "Was that a lighting that hit me? Jun, are you okay?"

"I'm afraid he's not…" came a voice from behind and the blonde turn around to see Hekireki coming his way. "He's fighting Hongen at the moment and most likely is getting the beating of his life… but that lighting part was somewhat true… I kinda know, since I was the one who fired it…"

"What the hell is your problem? Are you working for that Genko guy?"

"More or less…" replied Hekireki. "But that's not important for now… my mission is to take you with me and the way I see it, we can do it two ways: you can either come peacefully or I can just release such a large among of electricity into your body, that it'll get damaged so badly, you won't be able to move… all we need is for you to stay alive until Uragiri-sama performs the ritual…"

"I don't know what's that ritual you're talking about… nor that I know why you're chasing me… but besides the two you mentioned above, there is also a third way out: I can kick your ass and go help my friend fight their battles…"

"Interesting… you think you can manage to defeat me?"

"We'll have to find out…" replied Urusai as he charged right at the missing-nin.

* * *

And so this chapter is done… hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review once you're done with it. 

Sorry for no jutsu encyclopedia this time around, but to make it up to all of you that I'm too lazy to write it this time, I'll describe all the jutsus used so far (which haven't been described already) next time!

Take care and cya next time!


	14. Above Gennin Level

Yeah, I know… sorry it took me forever to update, but during the last month a lot happened and my free time got extremely limited. Not only by collage.

Thanks for waiting and for all the encouraging reviews. It really means a lot to me.

Well, before we start, just a warning that I have no idea when I'll be able to update… with Shang's help it may not take as long as this one, but I can't really promise anything.

Now, without further to do, here's another chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #14: Above Gennin Level**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is laying on the highest branch and next to him there's a kunai stuck in the tree

Genko jumped back, avoiding certain death, yet he had to grab his left arm, which got cut by Naruto's chakra claws. "_What the hell? When we fought last time our chances were about equal and now I can barely stay alive! How the hell is he able to go at such a speed? And what's with the four tails on his back? Last time it was only one…_" and just then he jumped back once more, just a second before Naruto's claws sunk deep into the ground where he was standing, creating a wide crater.

Genko landed on a nearby roof and breathing heavily looks at the surprised. "What… are you? You are not like the other Jinchuuriki I fought…"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto…" replied the whisker-marks calmly. "A former ANBU member… and the one that's going to kill you…" and with that he once more jumped towards the Black Flame member.

The white-haired man side-stepped the attack this time, yet before he knew it, Naruto appeared right behind him and cut through his back, making him yell in pain.

As he felt hard to the ground, mud got into his eyes. Genko slowly stood up and use his sleeve to get rid of the mud on his face: "Damn demon…" he said looking at the blonde. "You're getting too sure of yourself… I'm not dead yet… and you soon will be…" and with that he reached out for a strange, silver scroll.

"_That thing…_" Naruto's eyes slightly widen. "_So the Black Flame did steal those scrolls five years ago? Things will get tuff from now on…_"

----------

Urusai jumped to his left, thus avoiding another lighting sent by Hekireki. "_Dammit!_" the blonde cursed in his mind as he performed his favorite technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and instantly four more blondes appeared before the missing-nin.

"Pathetic…" announced Hekireki. "Is this really the best you can do? Increasing the number won't change anything… even if there are more fleas… they're still just fleas…"

"It's that confidence that is going to make you and your companions lose to us…" replied Urusai. "You have no idea how strong we are… Ayame-chan is the daughter of the current Hokage after all… and Jun is the top of the class… right after me, of course…"

At hearing that the missing-nin just laughed loudly: "You're priceless! Do you seriously think that some right-after-Academy brats have a chance fighting us? You know nothing about the real world! You probably never even killed anyone!"

"What's your point?" asked the leaf-nin through clenched teeth.

"Guess I should say this in a way even a pinhead like you would understand…" responded Hekireki. "Shinobi life… is a battle… and in battle, people die… as long as you won't witness death or kill someone yourself, you have no right to call yourself a ninja… someone like you… have no chances at defeating me, since when I was six… I already killed my own brother…"

"Say what!"

"Chit-chat time's over…" replied the missing-nin. "Come…"

----------

Ouda dodged all of the shuriken Ayame threw at her and charged towards the girl just to be stopped by the falling blade of the sword. As she looked to her left, she noticed Inari standing there with his katana, ready to fight.

"Two on one?" asked the missing-nin with a smirk. "At least that might be a challenge…"

Ayame just performed a quick set of hand seals and instantly she disappeared in thin air. "_So that hag is a genjutsu user…_" figured Ouda with a smile. "_The worst, possible opponent for me… this certainly will be interesting…_" and with that thought she turned, attacking air with her fist.

Right before Inari's eyes Ayame appeared again, hit by the missing-nin's fist and was send flying against a nearby wall. The Leaf kunoichi slowly got back to her feet, looking at her opponent: "_She sensed me perfectly? How the hell is that possible?_"

"Well, how do you like it?" asked Ouda, smiling widely. "I don't know much about illusions, but I assure you that I won't fall for such tricks… either you'll try something different or you'll lose… along with that sword guy…" with that she glared at Inari.

"Ayame, are you okay?" asked the Wave native with concern in his voice.

"It takes more then a single punch to know me out…" replied the kunoichi. "I'm Hatake Kakashi's daughter after all… how would it look if I'd allow myself to get defeated by the likes of her?"

"Funny you say that…" announced Ouda.

"I got a bit careless…" admitted Ayame. "Didn't except that you're the type of the opponent to see through my tricks… but I'm not defeated yet… Inari-san, please stay away… I'll take her on by myself…"

"You little bitch…" the missing-nin responded as she clenched her fists.

----------

"_Dammit, I can't shorten the range…_" Jun cursed in his mind as he was forced to avoid another, large root that Hongen 'threw' at him. "_With all this rain my fire jutsus will be less effective, so the best way to resolve this is close combat… but to reach that bastard, I'll have to do something about those damn roots of his…_"

"Come on, can't you do better?" asked the missing-nin with a smirk. "I was expecting more from someone of the Hanayaka clan…"

"Huh? How do you know my clan?"

"Just the fact that I do should be enough…" replied Hongen simply. "I guess this heavy rain is not convenient for you, is it?" with that he smirked. "Guess your level isn't as high as I expected… your sister would be very disappointed…"

Jun just performed a quick set of hand seals and with the last symbol he called out: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!". In an instant a huge fireball came right at the building Hongen was standing one.

The missing-nin managed to jumped of the roof in time to avoid getting completely burnt. "_Even though his attack got weakened a bit by the rain, it's still dangerous… if I'll allow him for too much, he might defeat me…_" and just then his eyes widen at the sight of Jun standing right under him and finishing another set of hand seals.

"Katon: Housenka!" the leaf-nin called out as tens of small fireballs shoot out of his mouth and came right at the missing-nin. Once the jutsu was done, Jun reached out for his Fuuma Shuriken and threw it right after the fireballs.

"_Shit, I got careless…_" cursed Hongen as he performed a chain of hand seals of his own: "Mokuton: Tsukene Nankan!" and in an instant huge roots shoot from under ground and place themselves between the missing-nin and the incoming fire bullets and shuriken.

To Hongen's surprise however the Fuuma shuriken just went through the roots, yet missed the falling missing-nin by inches. Hongen smiled under his nose: "_Tuff luck… those small fireball won't get me, coz such a pitiful flame should get extinguish by the rain already…_" and with that he turned to the incoming bullets.

A second later his eyes widen as he saw tens of small shurikens coming right at him: "_That damn brats… Housenka was just a diversion for me to get careless! He threw the shurikens after performing the jutsu in the way so they'd hid in the flames!_" and with that thought he covered his face with his hands as the shinobi stars cut his body in several places.

As he landed on the ground he pulled out the two shurikens that stuck in his hands and looked for Jun, but to his surprise, the leaf-nin was already behind him: "Gotcha…" he said simply as he finished another set of hand seals: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!"

As the smoke cleared, Jun looked around, but his opponent was nowhere in sight. "_Where did he go?_" Just then he felt the ground shaking under him, so he jumped up, thus avoiding the roots that shoot from the ground in the attempt to grab him. "_He hid underground…_"

As he landed on a nearby roof top, he glanced at the placed where some roots shoot up. Once they went back underground, he saw Hongen standing at the very spot: "You're a pain, Hanayaka…"

"Thanks for the compliment…" replied Jun with a smirk. "That's some jutsu speed you shown there… I'm impressed… however you cannot defeat me, so just get out of my way while I go help that dope…"

"Sorry, no can do…" responded the missing-nin. "I admit that you're better then I first thought, however that changes nothing… I'm still way above your level… you don't suppose someone like me can be defeated by a mere gennin, do you?"

"Most likely not…" nodded Jun. "I'm not a mere gennin however…"

"A brat will always be a brat…" sighed Hongen. "There's no point in holding back anymore. "I shouldn't be playing around… guess I gave you too much handicap and now you got too sure of yourself… better be prepared, coz now I'm going to show you my true strength…" and with that he began a new set of hand seals.

* * *

And that's that for now… hope you liked it.

Well, since the next chapter can take a while, here's the promised jutsu encyclopedia will all, my original jutsus, that weren't described earlier:

**_Konoha Gakure no Jutsu_** (Hidden Leaves Skill) – a technique used by Ayame and Kakashi (most likely Kurenai too). It's basically quite similar to Kiri Gakure no Jutsu used by Zabuza, the only difference is that the user blocks the view of the opponents with leaves in stead of the mist (**type:** genjutsu; **used by:** Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Ayame, most jounin)

**_Doton: Deichi Kansei_** (Earth Element: Mud Trap) – to perform this technique, the user must first perform the right set of hand seals and then release his chakra into the ground. Thanks to that, the ground bellow his opponent turns into mud, thus making it somewhat like a quick sands (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Uzumaki Naruto, stone-nins)

**_Doton: Ishi Akuryoku_** (Earth Element: Stone Grip) – another jutsu that originally came from the Hidden Stone. The user first sends his chakra into the ground and then, after performing the right seals, use it to form a hand made of stones… such a hand can be controlled as the user desires. It works quite similar to the way Gaara uses his sand (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Uzumaki Naruto, few Stone jounin)

**_Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu_ **(Fire Element: Dragon Breath Skill) – a jutsu created by the Hanayaka clan, which was the 'answer' to Uchiha's Grand Fireball Skill. Basically it's the same thing, the difference is that Hanayaka version require less chakra… but at the same time is weaker (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hanayaka Jun)

**_Mokuton: Tsukene Nankan_** (Tree Element: Root Barrier) - one of the secret jutsus known to very small number of people. In order to perform it, the user must first send his chakra to the ground, where it seeks out roots. Then, after performing the right set of hand seals, the chakra sent to the ground surrounds the roots, thus allowing the user to control them as he/she desires. In this case, the goal is to make a root barrier that would stop most, physical attacks (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hongen)

And that's that! Thanks for reading.

Before I go, I'd just like to wish you all HAPPY EASTER!

Until next time.


	15. Young Talents

Yes, I know it takes me forever to update… sorry, I have a lot of things on my head and collage is just the beginning, so I really cannot update that often… and I'm afraid the situation won't change sooner then in about four months… I'll still try to keep updating (hope I'll be able to finish the Mission part before the end of June at least)… but I can't say when the next update will happen.

Thanks for all the reviews last time. With the little time I have, here are the answers to the questions I've noticed. I hope I catch all of them:

**How come Hongen can use Mokuton:** to answer simply: you'll find out in this chapter.

**The fights seem to take too long:** well, I guess it may seem that way… but you can be sure that every fight that's going on at the moment (meaning Naruto vs. Genko, Urusai vs. Hekireki, Ayame and Inari vs. Ouda and finally Jun vs. Hongen) will help you see main character goals, the way they look at things and some of the mystery behind them… the mission won't take much longer now and more important OC will be appearing… after all, there's always the chuunin exam.

And without further to do, here's another chapter of "Naruto: Beyond":

**Chapter #15: Young Talents**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Jun is walking through the street in a tuxedo with sunglasses on his face and is talking through the cell phone

Naruto came to a sliding stop and glared up. There, on a nearby rooftop, stood Genko with his body surrounded by yellow chakra, which formed itself into claws in places it surrounded his fingers. A huge smirk was visible on his face as he looked back at the blonde.

"What's the matter, Uzumaki?" he asked with satisfaction. "Even though I used the Demon Scroll I'd figure someone who carries a real demon inside will put up more of a fight against this…"

"I have to admit that until now I never believed those really existed…" announced Naruto as he got back to his feet, still surrounded by his red chakra. "When Mizukage told Kakashi-sama that they were stolen I figured he just lied, because there were no scrolls in the first place… but for someone to actually try using artificial, demon chakra…"

"The Black Flame has to be prepared to fight Jinchuuriki…" replied Genko simply. "There were speculations that if we were to battle against demon vessels, we might lose, that's why Uragiri-sama ordered Reiko to steal them… I'm not sure how this is done, but I couldn't care less anyway… what's important is that with this I can catch up to you… or demon strength is almost the same so once again the one who possessed greater power as a human will be the one to win this fight… and that will surely be me…"

"If you think I ever counted on Kyuubi alone to win my battles, then you're greatly mistaken…" announced the blonde jounin calmly as he reached for a small scroll. "I have some tricks of my own, that I forgot to show you last time, up my sleeve… I'll show you how I've beaten Hoshigaki Kisame in the land of Grass…" and saying so he unwrapped his scroll.

----------

Ayame jumped back in order to avoid another punch. The floor where she stood just a second ago cracked after Ouda's fist hit it. The missing-nin raised her head towards the Leaf kunoichi and smiled evilly:

"You should stop avoiding it… I can still go a little bit faster… and put more power into my attacks… I also won't feel tired… sooner or later I'll get you…"

"So I figured…" admitted Ayame. "But you're still just taijutsu user… so far you haven't performed any hand seals, so I assume you know nothing about nin nor genjutsu… you can however see through my illusions… the explanation to all that is rather simple and it makes me wonder why I wasn't able to noticed it immediately… you're not so different from that other man, Genko was it?"

"So you really are a smarty pants…" nodded Ouda with a smile. "Well, I'm not as good as Genko-san, but it is true that I was once a medic-nin and as such I know a lot about chakra flow… having it mastered you won't be able to fool me on your low-level genjutsu…"

"That is what it seems…" replied Kakashi's daughter.

"So what are you planning?" Inari asked the Leaf kunoichi.

"I have only one way to defeat her…" she responded calmly. "_Sorry mom, but I have to use that jutsu…_"

----------

Urusai's clones disappeared in the cloud of white smoke as Hekireki unleashed electric waves into the air, each hitting one bushin. The blonde gennin looked at his opponent, starting to breath heavily.

"Tired already?" asked the missing-nin with a smirk. "We're only getting started…"

"Shut up!" Urusai yelled back. "I won't get defeated by someone who killed his own brother and doesn't feel a thing about it!"

At hearing that Hekireki laughed as loud as he could: "Funny you're the one saying that, seeing that your own family is really screwed-up…"

"My family… is screwed up?"

"So you don't know a thing, do you?" the missing-nin's smile widen even more. "I guess that stupid Hokage of yours decided to keep it a secret from you… for protection or some other, dumb reason… the Leaf's mentality will never stop to amaze me…"

"What do you mean by all that?" demanded Urusai. "You know something about my clan?"

"Maybe I do… maybe I don't… it's not like I'd tell you either way…"

"You will… I'll make you…" and with that he charged at Hekireki.

----------

Jun burnt more of the roots that shoot from below ground in the attempt to grab him. Hongen kept his jutsu activated, in hope to immobilize his opponent and watched every move of the leaf-nin: "_This guy is really good… he's been avoiding my roots for quite a while now… if this keeps up, I'll loose too much chakra… I have only one option left then…_" and with that he cancelled his technique.

Jun looked surprised at his behavior and instantly began a chain of hand seals of his own, seeing Hongen starting a new jutsu. As both of them finished, they each called out at the same time:

"Moku Bushin no Jutsu!" called out Hongen.

"Katon: Kasai Nankan!" yelled Jun.

In an instant several bushins literally formed themselves out of Hongen's body that once it got separated from the original, turned into wood, before becoming his perfect replica. At the same time Jun got surrounded with a fire barrier.

"Impressive…" announced the leaf-nin from within the barrier. "Wood Element… I thought the only one who could use that jutsu was Shodai Hokage… mind telling me how in the world are you able to perform it?"

"First Hokage's blood runs in my veins…" replied the real Hongen. "Uragiri-sama created me from his genes… that's the reason…"

"I see…" came Jun's voice. "So this whole Uragiri guy you're talking about… he must be some sort of a missing-nin from the Leaf… I kinda suspected something like that, after all you guys are after Urusai, aren't ya?"

"If that's the blonde brat's name, then you are right…" nodded the missing-nin.

"Right… that's all I wanted to know… no point in making this longer then…"

"You sure talk big, but even if you'll stay within that barrier of yours, I'll…" but then he was cut off by Jun's voice, which said 'Katon: Kasai Bakuha!' and in an instant a huge, fire ring shoot from the barrier and headed straight at the clones, surrounding him.

Hongen instantly jumped into the air, avoiding the attack, his clones however weren't fast enough and all got burnt by the fire attack.

While he was still in mid-air, he noticed Jun coming right at him. His eyes widen as the leaf-nin struck his kunai into his stomach. The missing-nin caught out blood and a second later they both landed on the ground, with Hongen instantly falling to his knees.

"How…" he began, but Jun answered immediately.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu… I asked Urusai to teach me… that pinhead can be helpful sometimes… the whole fire barrier was merely a diversion; once it covered me from your view I performed kage bushin and left the clone inside to perform the fire blast, while the original, me, dig underground and waited for you to lower your guard… simple as that…"

"I guess I underestimated you…" admitted Hongen. "But I'm glad I got to fight you… now I see what Akusai meant…"

"Akusai?" Jun's eyes widen. "What do you know about Akusai?"

"I'd tell you…" responded the missing-nin. "But it seems I ran out of time…" and with that he caught out blood even more and felt to the ground lifeless.

The leaf-nin stared at his dead opponent for a moment and then went on his way: "_I have to help the others…_" he thought, running through the town.

* * *

And this is it for now. Hope you enjoyed it.

No jutsu encyclopedia this time around, sorry… I'll do a proper one when I'll get a bit more free time. Besides, I figure it's better to update this in stead of making you wait few more days just so that I could place the encyclopedia.

Take care and hope to see ya all next time.


	16. Brains and Beauty

Umm, hey there... before we go any further, I believe I have to warn you guys about something. You see, Jackyl is a bit too busy right now, so he asked me, Shang, to upload this chapter for him. Naturally, I don't suppose I'm the right person to answer the reviews nor to make a jutsu encyclopedia. Jackyl promised he'll do it next time. I did however looked up a dictionary and I'll at least gave you the techniques translations at the end.

With that said, here the newest chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #16: Brains and Beauty**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Ayame is feeding Pakkun

Ayame threw her kunai straight towards Ouda, but the missing-nin dodged it easily, making in sink deep into the wooden wall behind her, and charged at the Leaf kunoichi at an incredible speed.

Kakashi's daughter jumped back just in time to avoid a punch aimed at her face. "_Dammit, still not enough… three more…_" she thought to herself before she received a punch in the stomach and felt to the ground. Instantly she threw a kunai above her at the bending Ouda, but the missing avoided it as well by simply bending back. The knife sunk deep into the ceiling.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" asked Ouda with a little bored tone. "Can't you see that you have no chances at defeating me? Even with that lame excuse for a samurai you won't be able to strike me down…"

"Inari-san's just isn't needed…" replied Ayame, smiling under her mask. "You'll soon be done for…" and with that she tossed several shuriken at her opponent. Using the time Ouda had to sacrifice for dodging, she got back to her feet, just to be rammed by the missing-nin and crush hard against a nearby wall.

"This is really pathetic…" whined Ouda. "We really should be wrapping this up so I can go and help Hekireki-san or Hongen-kun… maybe their opponents are more demanding then you are…"

"Don't count me out so soon…" asked Ayame as she threw another kunai at her opponent. Ouda easily dodged the incoming knife and sighed: "Can't you see this isn't working?"

"_Just one more…_" Kakashi's daughter thought to herself as she breathed heavily. Her eyes narrowed while she reached to her pocket and threw several smoke bombs towards the floor around her.

"_What is she trying to achieve with that?_" wondered Ouda as she charged straight towards the cloud of smoke and rammed Ayame with her elbow. The leaf-nin felt to the ground, gasping for air as a memory of a certain day flashed through her head…

---Five years ago---

A seven-year-old Ayame threw another shuriken, which also hit the bulls-eye perfectly. She smiled under her mask as an elder woman with long, black hair and red eyes walked closer to her. She was wearing a white, bandage-like dress and was carrying tea.

"You should rest, Ayame…" announced the older kunoichi. "If you'll keep on going, you might faint from the exhaustion… you've been here since early morning…"

"I know, mom…" replied the girl with a smile. "But dad promised to train with me when he'll finish work… he should be coming back any time now and I want to show him that I've become stronger…"

At hearing that the woman's head lowered a bit: "About that… Kakashi asked me to apologize, but it seems he won't be able to come home today… something came up and he'll have to stay at the tower the whole night…"

After hearing that Ayame's head also went down. "But he promised…"

"I know, Ayame…" announced the woman, embracing her daughter. "I know… but your father is the Hokage… try to understand… his duties towards the village are his priority as well… he's responsible for the entire village…"

The girl didn't response. Only after a longer silence, she asked: "Mom, do you remember the reason I wear this mask?"

The woman looked at her surprised, but after a short hesitation, she replied: "Of course… as you said it, you'll wear this mask until Kakashi will acknowledge your strength… those were your exact words… but there's really no need…"

"To me there is…" interrupted Ayame, almost yelling. "Just once I want him to see me first before the village! And when that will happen, I'll take this thing off! Not sooner!"

The woman smiled hesitatingly towards her and then placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, saying: "I've developed an interesting genjutsu lately… it's pretty hard to master and has its requirements, but only someone exceptional, who can withstand any illusion would be able to perform it… want me to show you?"

"Yeah!" yelled Ayame cheerfully.

---End flashback---

Ayame slowly got back to her feet with blood dripping behind her mask. She gazed at the missing-nin standing before her and picked out another kunai: "_One more…_" she reminded herself.

"Persistent, little hag, aren't ya?" asked Ouda with a smirk.

"It goes in the family…" replied Kakashi's daughter as she threw another knife at her opponent. Also this time the missing-nin dodged the kunai easily, making it sunk into another wall. "_Ready!_" Ayame almost said out loud as she performed a quick set of hand seals: "Genjutsu: Shichi Kage no Mai!"

In the next second Ouda felt to her knees, grabbing her head and screaming loudly. Hundreds of dark thoughts rushed through her mind and the memories she wanted to kept in the darkest corners of her mind came back to her again.

The next instant she felt her nose stopped working and her vision become blur. Slowly all five of her senses began to fade away. "What the hell did you do?" she demanded, looking at a violet mist, which was Ayame.

"The only genjutsu classified as a forbidden skill in Konoha…" replied the leaf-nin as she felt to her knees as well, from the exhaustion. "My mother showed it to me when I was seven… only someone with a perfect, chakra control can overcome it… those knives I threw… they were never supposed to hit you in the first place… I attached small tags to them. Those help me cast the illusion, since I'm not on a high enough level to perform this jutsu on my own… Once you get hit by this, you'll either go insane or even die due to psychical stress put on your mind…"

"Such brat…" began Ouda, but never finished. She just collapsed to the floor motionless.

"Ayame, are you alright?" asked Inari as he instantly reached the Leaf kunoichi.

"I'll be fine… I just wasted too much chakra…"

"But you really did it…" announced the man with a smile. "You defeated her…"

"I guess I did…" nodded the girl with a weak smile appearing behind mask. "But this battle isn't over yet… Inari-san, we must find my teammates and Naruto-sensei… they might need our help…"

"For the time being you can barely move…" noticed the swordsman. "Just rest here, I'll go look for them…" and not waiting for the girl's answer he just ran out of the house.

Ayame just rested her head on the floor and glared at the ceiling. "_I did it… mom, dad…_" she said to herself and closed her eyes with a smile of victory appearing on her face.

----------

"_What the hell is going on?_" wondered Genko as he jumped on top of a nearby roof, avoiding the explosive tag place on the ground by Naruto. "_That guy seems to be moving at sound speed at least now…_" and as he thought that the blonde jounin appeared behind him and elbowed his back.

The missing-nin felt to the ground and quickly got back to his feet and Naruto tried to stomp on his head. The moment Genko stood up, he received a powerful kick in the face that send him flying towards a nearby wall.

"_Where did this difference came from?_" wondered the missing-nin as he looked at the blonde, who was just standing in the middle of the road with rain dropping on his face. "_Just a while ago it seemed like an equal match and now I can hardly keep up with my eyes, not to mention my body…_"

"Had enough yet?" asked Naruto with an emotionless face. His demon chakra was gone. "I'm telling you that you cannot defeat me when I'm using this jutsu…"

"What is this, some sort of Shunshin?" Genko asked with a tiny smirk on his face.

"I guess you might put it that way…" responded the blonde. "It took me a while to invent it, but it turned out pretty good, don't you think? Normally I'd like to stay and praise over it a bit, but I have to get to my subordinates, so either give up or I'll be finishing this here and now…"

----------

Urusai landed on the ground once more. He looked at the hand he just landed a punch on Hekireki's stomach with. It was full of cuts and was covered in his own blood. He glared at his opponent, whose body was completely covered by electricity.

"I'm telling you that you can't beat me with taijutsu…" sighed Hekireki as a smirk creped onto his face. "Don't you think you should try a different strategy now? Like using your true power?"

"I have no idea what y're talking about with this 'true power' crap…" replied Urusai. "But I won't get beaten by the likes of you! Someone who kills his own brother is an opponent I refuse to lose to!" and so he performed his standard technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

"Some people will never learn…" the missing-nin let out another sigh. "I had enough fun and games… if it was up to me, I'd just kill you here and now… unfortunately you're needed alive… so I guess I'll just knock you out already…" and with that he performed a chain of hand seals, ended with a call: "Raiton: Ikazuchi Arashi!"

And instantly Urusai's eyes widen at what happened next.

* * *

And that's all Jackyl gave me, so before I wrap this up, here's the jutsu translation that I promised: 

_Genjtusu: Shichi Kage no Mai_ (Genjutsu/Art of Illusion: Seven Shadow Dance)

_Raiton: Ikazuchi Arashi_ (Thunder Element: Thunder Storm)

_Shunshin no Jutsu _(Body Flicker technique) - that one isn't used in the chapter as far as I know, but Genko mentioned it, so I figure it's better to explain it... it was used in the manga itself by Yondaime for example (his shunshin was incredibly fast). As far as I know it's a teleporting technique.

And I believe that's all... well, I guess I'll see you guys around and you shouldn't be worrying, coz the next chapter should be uploaded by Jackyl. Bye.


	17. Family Affair

This time it's finally me! Sorry it took me so long to update, but my exams are killing me, along with other things that are on my head. Since my time is limited, I'll make this A/N as short as possible, sorry.

First of, thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous, two chapters. As Shang promised, I'll answer your reviews from both here:

**_Is Hekireki just playing with Urusai or does he really knows things about him:_** Hekireki knows about Urusai, probably even more then the blonde himself… it's justified in the current situation, however for the time being I'd prefer to keep the rest a secret.

**_The battles are too long:_** yeah, I kinda know, but I wanted everyone to have their own battle… that way I managed to show a little bit more about Ayame and soon you'll see some more details about Urusai (he may get scary)… the whole fight shouldn't take too long now (about three or four chapters) during which you'll know Jun and Urusai's relationship a bit better… along with the fact what was going on with Naruto during the time he became jounin till now.

**_Who's that Akusai person:_** he, I can only say that she's a person from Jun's past and at this point I'd prefer not to go deeper into the topic… you'll learn about her later in the story.

**_Urusai is much alike the old Naruto:_** yeah, that's how I planned him… actually, Jun was supposed to be a tiny version of Sasuke too, however as time will pass, you'll see both of them developing totally different from the two mentioned above (and Sasuke will show up in the fic too… and he'll play an important part for that matter).

I believe that covers it. Before I go to this chapter, just one warning: you might freak out a little due to some events that will be presented in this one, but you'll know more about Hekireki that way. Now, off to the chapter:

**Chapter #17: Family Affair**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is exposing a fox tattoo on his left shoulder and is sticking out his tongue

Genko received another punch in the face, which send him flying at another wall. As he crushed hard against it, he felt Naruto unleashing a storm of attacks, landing every one of them on his body. The missing-nin caught out blood as the blonde jounin jumped away.

"_How in the world can he do this?_" wondered the white-haired man. "_Nothing seems to have any effect on him… I can't even land one blow!_"

"Why do you want Urusai so badly?" Naruto finally asked, as Genko shaking stood up again. "I doubt it's some sort of a weird reunion… what's Uragiri's objective?"

"That is none of your business, is it?" replied the missing-nin.

"One of my students is involve…" reminded the blonde. "It is my business…"

"Well, you're not getting any information from me…"

"You're useless then…" announced Naruto coldly and charged at him again with a strange, black Rasengan in his right hand.

----------

"Raiton: Ikazuchi Arashi!" Hekireki called out and in a fracture of a second electricity began surrounding his entire body again. The missing-nin smirked as a shockwave was send straight at the surprised leaf-nin and his clones, making all the bushins disappearing in the cloud of white smoke and the original just barely jumping into the air, avoiding the electric tsunami.

"As you see, you're chances at defeating me, equal zero…" announced Hekireki calmly as he walked towards the blonde, his eyes shining with electricity. "Give up already get this over with…"

"Never!" yelled Urusai as he charged at the missing-nin again and punched him right in the face, just to get hit by tens of volts. The blonde yelled in pain as the shock send him flying against a nearby wall.

"Look, dumbass, at this point even your clones are useless…" stated Hekireki coldly. "Physical attacks won't do anymore and in this weather your fire techniques will be too weak to get me…"

"Maybe…" responded Urusai with his skin burnt here and there and his clothes a total mess, as he got up. "But even so… as I said… I refuse to lose to people who kill their own family!"

"You're still on about that?" the missing-nin let out a bored sigh. "If you don't know the whole story, you're not obligated to judge me…"

"Tell me that story then…" came a response. "I wonder how you'll justify murder!"

"Justify murder?" repeated Hekireki before laughing. "I guess I really should tell you this, coz you're getting the wrong idea completely… to start of, the only one that was murdered… was myself…"

---Six years ago---

"As usual, you got yourself some lame excuse so you won't have to keep your promise…" complained the eight-year-old Hekireki as a boy about ten years older then him, with short, spiky, blue hair and golden eyes, wearing a white robe, put on a headgear with the kanji symbol for 'thunder' on it. "I'm the Raikage and I have my duties… that's what you always say, brother!" and with that he pointed his finger at his sibling.

The Raikage turned around and kneeled before the boy: "Look, Hekireki, I know it's hard for you, but you must understand: after the war with the Hidden Mist, Kumo is weakened… I cannot allow myself to put you before the village in this state… times like this require… drastic measures…"

"Yeah, yeah…" replied the younger boy, turning away from his brother. "I heard it a hundred times already… you and that stupid Raijuu project… that demon was defeated a long time ago and the Jinchuuriki that it was sealed in died because of the Akatsuki… what more there is to it?"

"More then you think…" responded the Raikage with a sad voice. "I even fear that Raijuu is the only way for our village to hold it's position as one of the Great Villages…" his brother still didn't look at him so he just stood up and headed towards exit. "Someday you'll understand… I hope…" and so he went on his way.

xxx Few days later xxx

Hekireki lunched a kick in his brother's face, just to have it blocked. In an instant the Raikage charged forward and attacked the future missing-nin's torso with an opened palm. The young boy was send flying back and came to a sliding stop few meters away.

The boy instantly got back to his feet and reached for his spear. As he charged at the Kumo leader with the weapon held in front. The Raikage simply grabbed his weapon by the stick and threw it away, thus making it miss him by a mile and then landed another blow with an opened palm, this time in the boy's face.

"Dammit, not fair!" yelled Hekireki as he held his face. "You weren't suppose to go all out! This is just a sparring match!"

"I'm not going all out…" replied the Raikage with a tiny smile. "It's you who's just pathetic."

"What, you agreed to finally train with me just to insult me?" yelled the younger boy, pointing a finger at his older brother. "That's mean!"

"Yondaime-sama…" they both heard a voice and a second later an ANBU appeared on the field. "The preparations are complete… we're ready to enter the final stage of the project…"

"I'll be right there…" responded the Raikage, his face turning grim instantly. He then forced a smile as he turned to his sibling: "Sorry Hekireki, but I have to cut out training sessions short… soon we'll be able to spend more time together though…" and with that he was gone along with the ANBU.

xxx That evening xxx

Hekireki was almost asleep when he heard the door to the estate open. Wanting to get his brother from a surprise, he quietly exited his bedroom and headed towards the entrance. He stopped halfway though as he noticed his brother didn't come back alone.

"I was not informed of that condition…" announced the Raikage angrily. "How do you expect me to agree to this?"

"Yondaime-sama, it's for the good of all Kumo…" replied the ANBU, a little scared.

"This is different…" stated Hekireki's brother. "No matter which I choose, I will be betraying the Cloud… there has to be another way…"

"We already tried, Raikage-sama… this is the only outcome…"

The Yondaime went silent for a moment and then asked slowly: "When?"

"The sooner, the better…" replied the ANBU.

The Raikage hesitated for another moment and then slightly nodded his head: "Do it quick then… however if anything goes wrong, I'll have your head…"

The ANBU bowed and instantly appeared right before the surprised Hekireki: "Sorry kid…" and after saying so he stabbed the boy's chest. After that everything went blank.

xxx Some time later xxx

Hekireki's eyes shoot open as he sat up straight. Instinctually he reached for his chest where the kunai was stabbed, only to find that there was no wound there. He looked around confused and saw his brother, along with few ANBU standing around him. From the look of it, they were now in some underground room.

"Where am I?" he managed to say weakly.

"In a secret laboratory…" replied the Raikage, his face emotionless. "How do you feel?"

"Confused…" responded the future missing-nin truthfully. "I remember being stabbed in the chest and… well, that's pretty much it… what's going on, bro?"

"Maybe I should explain, Yondaime-sama…" purposed a man with grey hair and wrinkles all over his face. The Kumo leader nodded, thus he continued: "During our war with the Kiri, we send many spies into the Land of the Mist to know about our enemies actions. Thanks to that we learned about a dangerous experiment the Mizukage allowed his specialists to perform: making Demon Scrolls… their purpose was simple: to make more shinobi like the Jinchuuriki and that way create a special unit that no-one would be a match against… the scrolls, once activated, gave the user the strength of a demon vessel… by fighting such warriors, the one carrying Raijuu died… before the war ended, we managed to copy the incantations on one of such scrolls and were able to copy… but having an artificial, demon chakra wasn't our solution… we decided, that with such knowledge we could make Raijuu be reborn…"

"But what this has to do with me?" demanded Hekireki.

"Everything!" announced the man. "We choose you to be our first Jinchuuriki… for you see, with the use of those scrolls, we can create as many demon vessels as we want… there's just one, minor problem to that… since Raijuu… died, the vessel's body had to be of a similar nature… to put it simply, before we can create a new Jinchuuriki, we would require a dead body of someone who died recently… once the Bijuu would get sealed inside, the wound would regenerate and the person would get reviewed, if we act quickly enough, while the subject is still in clinical death state… for that we choose you…"

"And you agreed to this?" Hekireki turned to his brother with anger in his eyes. A second later electricity shoot out from them. The Raikage backed away a little.

"It was to save the Kumo…" he replied simply with a note of guilt in his voice.

"You…" Hekireki's eyes turn gold as he stood up, electricity surrounding his entire body. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"

---End flashback---

"I could sworn I heard my brother order all the ANBU gathered there to not fight me…" concluded the missing-nin. "But I didn't care anymore… once this artificial Raijuu took over, I slaughtered every one of them… none fought back…"

Urusai lowered his head as his hands began shaking. "You…" he said quietly, holding back his anger. "And you say you're not the murderer? What they did inhuman, but you think that justifies your actions?" and with that he raised his head, his eyes completely black.

"_So, he finally activated it…_" Hekireki thought to himself with a smirk.

Jun stopped at a nearby rooftop and looked around. "_Where are they?_" he asked himself as he looked into the distance and finally spotted the blonde gennin. "_Here…_" he announced as he ran towards the fighting Urusai and Hekireki.

But as he found himself close to the place the two stood, he stopped in his tracks and looked with horror in his eyes at his teammate. "_What the…? Is that… Urusai?_"

* * *

And this is it… sorry I won't give you the jutsu encyclopedia this time around, but Shang said that he translated the techniques from the previous chapter, so… I should be able to place the encyclopedia next time though… it's also possible I'll be able to update sooner. Have hope.

Cya.


	18. Final Blow

Tadam! I managed to write this pretty quick this time, considering my exams are still killing me (then again, I guess I have Shang to thank for this). At any point, the chapter is done and the end of the Wave Country battle is coming nearer.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chappie! It really means a lot. There weren't any questions for last time really (all that were asked will be answered in this one, so it's better not to spoil anything). And hints to Urusai will be uncovered in this one.

At the same time however I'm a bit depressed with the number of reviews I've been getting lately… please, cheer me up a bit and leave a comment this time? It'd be nice, since I have a terrible exam on Monday.

With that said, I believe the only thing left for me to do is to start the next chapter:

**Chapter #18: Final Blow**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Jun and Urusai are playing 'paper, rock, scissors' and Jun is crushing the blonde

"_Something's not right…_" Hekireki thought to himself as he observed the changes in his opponent. "_It's… different then Uragiri-sama described it… it's almost as if… he wasn't using just his bloodline…_"

Foam began to escape Urusai's mouth as his eyes became completely black. His body was shaking and his hair seemed to become darker then it was normally. The blonde raised his head and looked at the missing-nin, sending shivers down the former cloud-nin's spine.

In an instant Urusai jumped at Hekireki, held out his hand and to Jun's surprise, flames burst out from it. But they were not simple flames… they were black as night. "_That's the same as from that time on the bridge…_" the gennin thought, shaking a little. "_And this time he didn't even perform any hand seals… how is this possible?_"

Hekireki jumped into the air, thus avoiding the attack, and landed right behind the Leaf shinobi. "_This is not good… I underestimated this…_" and with that thought he went through some hand seals. "_But now that I know he can perform it, all that's left is to capture him…_"

Suddenly his placed his hands on the ground and called out: "Raiton: Dendou Shougekiha!" and in an instant electricity ran through the ground and hit the blonde hard, making him yell in pain and cough out blood.

Jun managed to avoid the attack by jumping onto a nearby roof. The young Hanayaka observed the ground as the electric wave slowly faded away. The moment it did so, his teammate collapsed to the ground.

"Earth conducts electricity…" reminded Hekireki with a smirk. "By sending the right among of it into the ground, it's only natural that it'll hit everything in a certain radius… the fact that the ground is wet due to the rain helps to speed this up too… I have no idea why your flame seemed different from a normal, Kodawari one, but it doesn't change the fact that you still can be taken down…" with that he walked over to the blonde, who was now unconsciously laying on the ground. "I didn't kill you however… it really is a pity, but Uragiri-sama wishes to have you alive…"

"Katon: Housenka!" he suddenly heard a voice and acting on instinct, the missing-nin jumped back, thus avoiding a fireball shower that came from above. A second later Jun landed right beside Urusai, giving the former cloud-nin a death glare.

"So, Hongen failed…" concluded Hekireki, his face not showing any emotions at all. "How troublesome, now I'll have to waste some energy to kill you… but at least I'll get to have a little more fun… you do seem like a bigger challenge then the blonde…"

"You don't know the half of it…" responded Jun as he went through some more hand seals: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!" and suddenly he breath out fire from his mouth, that headed straight at the missing-nin.

Hekireki jumped back, in order to avoid the attack, yet then his eyes widen as he was another Jun coming right at his back with a kunai ready. "_Kage bushin?_" the boy's eyes widen at the sight. "_That brat… while I'm in mid-air, I cannot dodge!_"

In an instant Jun's clone threw his knife right at Hekireki. The missing-nin acted immediately and reached with his hand to the ground. As his palm touched the surface, without wasting a second the former cloud-nin use it to switch directions, thus avoiding the incoming kunai, but just barely.

It turned out that he wasn't safe yet though as a call "Kawarimi!" was heard and before he noticed Jun appeared in the place of the knife he just avoided. The leaf-nin stabbed him with his own kunai, but luckily for the missing-nin, he missed the vital spot and ended striking his knife into the older boy's shoulder.

As Hekireki jumped away from the leaf-nin, he began forming a new set of hand seals, only to have it interrupt by a kick in the face. As he flew at the wall, he realized his mistake: "_Right, there was still his bushin… this guys really is pretty good… fighting him will be pretty troublesome at this point…_" and with that he flip, using his legs to land on the wall, without receiving damage. "You sure are an annoying fly…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot…" replied Jun as his clone appeared beside him and the moment it did so, both of them charged right at the missing-nin, who didn't moved an inch. Hekireki just lowered his head and seemed to start laughing.

As Jun and his clone got close to him, both attacking from different sides, the missing-nin raised his head, thus revealing his eyes began shining. In the next second electricity shoot from his body and hit both, incoming opponents.

The clone crushed against a nearby wall and disappeared in the cloud of white smoke, while Jun came to a sliding stop few meters away, with his skin burning him around his torso. "_No hand seals too… what the hell?_"

Hekireki was now standing right before him, his eyes still shining and what's more electricity was surrounding his entire body. It was different then earlier though… more furious. The missing-nin's smirk widen even more as he looked at his opponent.

"So this is the thing for which you killed your brother?" they both heard a voice and as they turned around, they saw Urusai slowly getting back to his feet. "The thing that caused you your life… the thing that you hated your brother so much for… the thing that killed him… and you use it so freely…" and with the last line he raised his head, revealing his anger. His eyes were not black anymore, nor this foam was coming out of his mouth, but it was still Urusai that Jun didn't know before.

"You really don't know when to give up…" sighed Hekireki, still smiling. "It'll be two on one from now on, it's seems… but, then again, with Raijuu's help, you might say that the number is even anyway… Hanayaka and Kodawari… this could be interesting… fighting the heirs of two, Konoha's strongest, fire using clans… well, not exactly heirs, but…"

"How come you know so much about me?" asked Urusai calmly. "And about Jun too?"

"I told you, I'm not a tourist information…" replied the missing-nin. "The only thing that's important is that I need you…" he announced, looking at the blonde and then turning to Jun: "You however can be disposed of… so, shall we start the fun?" he asked, raising up his hand that was covered in electricity and the next moment a thunder shoot right towards the sky from it. "It's been a while since I feed him… so I guess Raijuu is pretty hungry for blood right now…"

----------

"Gougi Rasengan!" yelled Naruto as he charged right at the missing-nin, holding the hand that was carrying the black, chakra orb out front. As it hit the white-haired man, he was send flying again and came to a sliding stop several meters away.

The blonde looked into the distance, not bothering to observe his opponent. "_That feeling just now… it seemed like it's something with Urusai… was he able to activate his bloodline limit? But that shouldn't be possible… yet, back at the bridge… could it be that the seal, in stead of preventing his bloodline to activate… mutated it? Well, it seems it was just for a moment, but…_"

Genko slowly began standing up, his body was shaking. He held his torso, that now was bleeding. The missing-nin looked at it only to see a large wound going across his torso. "How in the world… previously, when you hit me…"

"In this case, to create the Rasengan, I used my demon chakra…" Naruto interrupted him. "It's more destructive then normal and I can also use a bigger among of chakra, so it's only natural it causes greater damage… at this point even your healing abilities won't do you much, since with this among of damage, instant regeneration is impossible… this also gives me enough time to deliver a final blow to you…"

"It'd seem you really defeated me…" admitted Genko with a smile. "Even my demon chakra is of no use, since you're using that weird Shunshin thingy… one question though: even if you'll kill me… do you really suppose you'll save that brat? With my death, others will surely come… you think you can fight us all?"

"This is one thing we'll see…" replied the blonde calmly, as he began to form another Rasengan. "I've wasted enough time with you… I need to get to my students fast, so I'll be finishing this now… goodbye…" and with that he charged at the missing-nin, yet the next moment his eyes widen as he saw something with the corner of his eye.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled Ayame, who just came out from around the corner.

Genko looked to his right and instantly smirked as he lunched his chakra hand with sharp claws at the girl. The kunoichi froze immediately, unable to move. "Ayame!" was all Naruto managed to yell.

Kakashi's daughter covered her face with her hands, awaiting the hit, but it never came. As she unwrapped her eyes, she saw Naruto standing right in front of her, with Genko's chakra hand buried into his body.

"That Shunshin of yours…" cursed the missing-nin with a smirk. "But then again, maybe this is even better… if you would try to protect the girl, she'd be the only one dead… now that you're so badly wounded, I'll just kill you and then rip her apart… my, my, how the tables have turned…"

The blonde jounin collapsed to his knees as Genko's hand withdraw. Blood was coming out from his left shoulder, torso and right leg. The young kunoichi immediately found herself near her teacher and instantly gotten pale at the sight. "Naruto-sensei!"

* * *

And this one is over. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done reading. The only thing left to do, before the goodbye is to give you the jutsu encyclopedia: 

**_Raiton: Dendou Shougekiha_** (Thunder Element: Electric Shockwave) – technique used by Hekireki. To put it simply, the user must first gather chakra in his hands and then, with the use of right hand seals, release it in the form of electricity and thanks to that, anything it touches gets hit by electricity. In the fic, Hekireki placed his hands on the ground, thus releasing the current into it (**type: **ninjutsu; **used by:** Hekireki)

**_Gougi Rasengan_** (Great Rasengan) – a technique invented by Naruto. Basically it's a Rasengan formed from Kyuubi's chakra. The main differences between this one and a typical Rasengan is that it's more powerful, but also consumes more chakra (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Uzumaki Naruto)

And with that this chapter really ends. Thanks a bunch for reading and until next time!


	19. No Turning Back

Wow, I actually manage to write this just this evening? Boy, I'm good :D

Seriously though, thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I'm glad you liked it, coz that was my favorite from the Wave Country mission as well… to all of you guys that are getting bored with this fight I have good news: it's really at its end, as well as the whole Wave Country mission and right after that we return to Konoha for the Chuunin Exam! Soon you'll met some new shinobi (not just from the Leaf). As to how the exam will look like… you'll see once we get there.

Now, without making this longer (since my free time is limited) here's the newest chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #19: No Turning Back**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is hanging upside down from the tree branch with his foot caught in a trap and below him Jun is showing him his middle finger

"Naruto-sensei!" Ayame yelled as she grabbed her teacher while he fell to his knees. "Naruto-sensei, are you okay?" and with that she glared at Genko, who was standing few meters away. "_With such wounds, Naruto-sensei has no chances at victory…_"

The blonde jounin propped himself against the ground with his hand. As his fingers sunk in the puddle of his own blood, he raised his sight at the missing-nin. The white-haired man smirked and crossed his arms with confidence.

"So, are you still gonna fight, or are you just gonna give up?" he asked as his smirk widen. "That second choice will surely be less painful, you know…"

"Give up?" repeated the blonde jounin with a sudden smirk appearing on his face as well. "Why would I give up when victory is at hand? No, actually I'll give YOU the last chance to spit out why you guys want Urusai so badly and if you won't tell me, I assure that you'll die tonight…"

"You're really priceless…" responded Genko, yet his confidence seemed to faded a bit. "What do you expect to do with such wounds? Even you're demon won't help you heal them fast enough… But you got me interested… show me what you're planning to do…"

"Certainly…" replied Naruto as he threw several kunai straight at the missing-nin. The white-haired man however deflected them with ease using his own knife. Some of the knives flew away, some struck into the roof Genko stood on and one sunk into the ground.

The missing-nin's smile disappeared as he noticed tags wrapped around the knives he just deflected and jumped away, hoping to avoid the trap in time. "_Explosive tags…_" he stated as the explosion broke the roof he stood on a second ago into bits. "_Do he really expects to catch me on that?_" and with that thought he began performing hand seals.

Just then few kunai sunk into his body, yet that didn't make him lose his concentration as he finished his technique: "Hijutsu: Rakurai Tsukau no Jutsu!" and right before Ayame's eyes thunder shoot from the sky right towards the white-haired man, just to start circling around him, no causing any damage.

"_A bloodline limit user!_" Kakashi's daughter noticed instantly as he looked with horror at the thunder that separated into smaller charges and all flew directly at the blonde jounin, who now stood behind the missing-nin, aiming another kunai. "Naruto-sensei!" he managed to called out before her teacher got hit but the lighting.

But to Genko's surprise the blonde only disappeared in the cloud of white smoke. "_Kage Bushin?_" wondered the missing-nin. "_He must've created that clone when I was avoiding those explosive tags and the explosion covered my view… I guess I may have more bushins to destroy… however the way to uncover the original is so easy…_" and with that he fired another thunder, this time at the surprised Ayame.

The kunoichi got paralyzed by fear. She felt her legs becoming stone as the electric bullet came at her at an incredible speed. In the last moment the blonde jounin pushed her away, getting hit by the lighting and disappeared in the cloud of white smoke as well.

"_Not this one either…_" Genko sighed internally as he fired another bullet at the young leaf-nin. "_But as long as I'll keep attacking the girl, he'll have to protect her… my technique doesn't require much chakra… but he has that damn Kyuubi… going on like this can take forever to decide the victor…_"

"Seems like keeping that thunder circling around you requires to hold your hands in that seal…" noticed the blonde jounin as he appeared on a nearby roof. "So by making you drop the jutsu, you'll become defenseless… shouldn't be that hard to do…" and the instant he said so another Naruto came charging at the white-haired man with an intend to pierce through him with the katana he held in his hands.

Genko instantly released another electric bullet, which hit the incoming blonde, making him disappear in the cloud of white smoke. Immediately two, other whisker-marks men charged at him with kunai ready in the hands. Also those clones were destroyed by the lightings however.

But as more and more bushins came at him, it became harder for the missing-nin to destroy them all in time and thus, finally, he was forced to use his hands in defense. The moment he did so, almost all the clones got dispelled by receiving a direct hit from the white-haired man's kick or punch.

"_So many clones at once…_" Ayame's eyes stayed widen as she observed the fight. "_Surely what he shown us during our exam was nothing… and still that Genko guy manage to destroy all of them… is there really no way to defeat him!_"

"Finally you dropped that damn jutsu of yours…" noticed Naruto that stood on the roof. "Time to finish this then…" and instantly he performed a single hand seal. Immediately five flames shoot towards the sky, one from the puddle of blood that the whisker-marks sunk his hand earlier, another from the kunai that struck into the ground after being deflected by Genko.

Before the missing-nin could do a single thing, lines of symbols appeared around him, forming a pentagram with him in the middle of it. As he looked to his feet, he saw the symbol for 'death' appearing below him and just then his body stopped listening to him. "What the…?"

"Remember how I told you bout the time I fought Hoshigaki Kisame in the Land of Grass?" asked the blonde calmly. "The truth is I'd have died that day if it wasn't for a friend of mine… coz this is the same thing that Kisame and his partner used to trap me… funny one really, coz it paralyzes only demons… but with that artificial, demon chakra you have, I guess you qualify…"

"I don't get it…" announced Genko calmly, yet sweat dropped from his face. "If you could do this the entire time, why didn't you?"

"The truth is there are special requirements that has to be made to perform this one…" replied Naruto. "You see, first I had to write a special seal with my own blood and then place it around you in five places, creating a circle… after that I needed to place the same seal on you… then all that was required is to activate the trap with the single hand seal…"

"Don't tell me that…" began the missing-nin, knowing the answer.

"It's exactly as you picture it…" interrupted the blonde. "You really should have took out those kunai that sunk into your body in stead of performing that jutsu… one of those knives has the tag wrapped around it with the seal I told you about written with my blood… that time when I hid my hand in that puddle of blood… I was placing the first kunai. Those kunai I threw afterwards, never meant to hit you… the explosive tags were suppose to allow me to create enough clones to distract you while the original would plant other seals… conveniently I decided to throw one knife with the seal and you deflected it so that it fell right in the place I wanted it too… and that clone that was ready to attack you from behind with kunai right after you performed your technique…"

"His mission was not to hit me either…" finished Genko through clenched teeth. "He was placing another kunai…"

"Preciously…" nodded the blonde, earning Ayame's surprised glare. "Just as I promised you… you'll die tonight…"

---------

Jun jumped back as lighting shoot down from the sky in an attempt to hit him. The young Hanayaka looked at Hekireki with anger in his eyes. Urusai was already charging at the missing-nin with his kunai ready, but the blue-haired boy only smirked as he announced: "An act of desperate shinobi, eh? But you know, that knife of yours is made from metal and funny thing about metal is, that it…" the moment he said so the blonde got electrocuted by the thunder that felt from the sky. "… attracts lightings…"

"Urusai!" the black-haired gennin called out as he saw his teammate landing on the ground, barely breathing. "_This is not good at all… it's almost as if we're having nature against us… you can't tell from where exactly the attack will come and what's worse, that guy doesn't even seem to perform any hand seals before dropping those thunders on us… so what's the secret behind this? Bloodline limit? Or is it his Bijuu ability?_"

Just then Hekireki went through some more hand seals and once he finished, he called out: "Raiton: Ikazuchi Nami no Jutsu!" As he did so Jun's eyes widen as a large charge of electricity rushed at him on the ground.

Having no, other way to dodge the young Hanayaka jumped into the air. However that was exactly what the missing-nin wanted. As a small smirk appeared on the former cloud-nin's face, lighting shoot from the sky again, hitting the gennin.

Jun let out a scream of pain as he felt to the ground, barely conscious. Hekireki walked over to the shaking leaf-nin as his smile widen: "You're actually pretty lucky… since my mission is to bring your friend alive, I was using a charge that wouldn't kill him… I forgot about that detail, coz if it wasn't for that, that thunder that just hit you would be way more powerful and you'd be already burned to a crisp… oh well, no harm done…" and the moment he said so, electricity shoot from his hands. "I'll finish the job now…"

"Ain't you forgetting something?" he suddenly heard a voice and as the missing-nin turned around, he received a powerful punch in the chin, which send him flying into the air. Urusai, who was the one to attack him, jumped right after him, keeping the blue-haired boy right above himself: "I don't know how you manage to make those thunders attack us, but it doesn't seem like you have control over them and they're just blindly attacking us… and since that's the case, one should be coming at me as we speak… lets see if you're immune to your own technique!"

The instant he said so, another lighting came from the sky in an attempt to hit the blonde, however having Hekireki in its way, the missing-nin got hit in stead. The Konoha shinobi only smirked: "Seems like I was right…"

As they both fell to the ground, Urusai manage to land safely on his feet while Hekireki crushed hard against the surface. The blonde immediately ran towards his teammate, who was shaking as he slowly got back to his feet.

"Nice going, bonehead…" Jun complimented his partner as he looked at their opponent, who also got back to his feet. Even though his skin was burnt in several places, just like the young Hanayaka's, the missing-nin didn't seem to be effect by it as much.

"How is this possible?" demanded Urusai surprised. "That bolt hit you, you should be in similar state Jun is! How the hell you can stand so easily!"

"You really are an idiot…" stated Hekireki simply with a smile. "Raijuu is the master of lighting, so it's only natural that he absorbed most of that attack… with my own techniques, you won't defeat me…"

"Then there's only one option left…" stated Jun calmly as he picked out two kunai and kept looking at the missing-nin. "Time to show you why Hanayaka is one of the three, strongest Konoha fire using clans…"

"So, you're finally gonna activate your bloodline limit?" asked the blue-haired boy with a smirk. "Akusai talked about it, but I never saw it with my own eyes…"

"Take a good look then…" replied Jun coldly.

* * *

Is Genko really finished? What is Jun's bloodline limit? Coming up: the battle comes to an end! Who'll prevail? You'll have to find out for yourselves!

And now, something that I asked Shang about and he allowed me to use that idea, so here is the character profile of the main hero of the story! In the next chapter, another profile will appear. Originally it was suppose to be Jun's but if you want someone else, just let me know. Now, let's get on wit it:

_Name:_ Kodawari Urusai

_Age:_ currently 12 years old

_Birth Date:_ 1st of April

_Blood Type:_ 0

_Height:_ 142,9 cm

_Weight:_ 49,6 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ taijutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf Village)

_Team:_ cell led by Uzumaki Naruto; his teammates are Hatake Ayame and Hanayaka Jun

_Family:_ this information is classified (seriously)

_Bloodline limit:_ no information (or more as if I rather not say)

_Techniques:_ Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu (Fire Lance Skill), Katon: Kasai Arashi no Jutsu (Firestorm Skill), Bushin no Jutsu, Katon: Enmaku (Smokescreen), Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Skill), Urusai Kasane (Urusai Pile)

_First appearance:_ 1st chapter

And lastly, the jutsu encyclopedia for this time around:

_**Hijutsu; Rakurai Tsukau no Jutsu** _(Secret Skill: Thunderbolt Manipulation Skill) – a technique used by Genko. To put it simply, the user first releases chakra from his body, making it spin around him with the use of the right hand seals. Once that is done, the released chakra attracts thunders, yet doesn't allow them to hit the user. Once the thunder starts circling around the one who executed the jutsu, by getting filled with chakra, it gets under the users total control (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Genko).

_**Raiton: Ikazuchi Nami no Jutsu** _(Thunder Element: Lighting Wave Skill) – simply speaking, it's releasing chakra into the ground in the form of a thunder. Such 'wave' moves at an incredible speed in the direction the user wants it to (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hekireki).

And so this chapter really ends. Hope you liked it.

Cya all!


	20. Battle Resolve

Yes, I know that it took me like forever to update, but unfortunately Shang couldn't help me out this time and I wasn't even close to the PC for the last 10 days, so… anyways, I did manage to write this finally and with it the Wave Country mission is almost finished… you'll know the results of the fights at least.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Since most of you are just interested in Jun's bloodline limit, you'll know everything from this chapter, so no point in describing it in my opinion.

Just for the record: I probably won't be able to update for quite some time, since I'll have other business. Shang said he'll try to help so we'll see how this will go (and at this point I'd like to invite you to read his fics during the time mine will be updated only from time to time… if you like this one you'll probably like his 'next generation' fic as well).

With that said, lets get on with the show:

**Chapter #20: Battle Resolved**

**_Chapter Cover:_** camp at night: Jun is starting the fire, Urusai is holding marshmallows on a stick over the fire and Ayame is sleeping under a nearby tree

"Is this some sort of a joke?" Genko made an effort to move, yet failed miserably. "How can something, that traps demons work on me? I'm not a Jinchuuriki!"

"The irony…" replied Naruto calmly as he drew his kunai. "The thing that was your strength turned out to be the thing that took the victory away from you… of course you'll say that you'll be able to deflect any knives I'll throw at you with your chakra alone, but still this fight is over…" and so he turned to his student: "Ayame, you might wanna look away…"

The kunoichi gave a surprised look, but in the next second did as told. The blonde acted immediately. He threw the kunai straight at the missing-nin and began forming hand seals. Genko released his chakra from his body and thus stopped the knife before it reached its target. But at that moment Naruto finished his chain of hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" called out the whisker-marks and in an instant a large fireball flew right at the white-haired man. Being able only to widen his eyes, the missing-nin disappeared in the flames. As the fire cleared, Genko was nowhere in sight. "Ash to ash…" announced Naruto with a sad voice as he turned towards Ayame again: "It's over…" he said and with that he slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled the daughter of Kakashi as she grabbed her teacher before he hit the ground. "Naruto-sensei, are you okay?"

"I lost too much blood…" noticed the blonde calmly. "Kyuubi's regeneration powers aren't what they used to be, I guess…" he managed a weak smile, but almost instantly his face turned serious again. "We need to go… Urusai and Jun may require our help…" and with that said he tried to make a step, but immediately lost balance and almost felt to the ground once more.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to do much in this state, Naruto-sensei…" announced Ayame a little worried. "But I don't think you should be worrying… those two can take care of themselves… I believe in them…"

The blonde just threw her a quick looked and smiled under his nose. "_Seems like they finally started to act like a real team…_" he thought to himself. "_But even with all that… I can't stop worrying… Urusai's bloodline limit… and then there's always Jun's…_"

---------

Jun threw the two kunai he held in his hand at the missing-nin and instantly performed a quick set of hand seals. As Hekireki dodged the incoming knives, he turned his gaze at the young Hanayaka, whose eyes looked like they were burning.

"Hijutsu: Kasai Tsume!" Jun called out and right before Urusai's widen eyes claws made of fire appeared on his hands. In the next moment his teammate charged at the missing-nin at an incredible speed, aiming his claws at the blue-haired boy's head.

Hekireki banded back in the last moment, thus avoiding getting hit. A small smile crept on his face as he performed a quick hand seal and called out: "Raiton: Ikazuchi!" In an instant a small thunder shoot from electricity surrounding his body and hit defenseless Jun, sending him flying back few meters.

"Hanayaka clan bloodline limit…" the smirk on the missing-nin's face widen as he continued. "The ability to shape the flames as the user desires… quite a fearsome skill when used properly… however it also consumes a great deal of chakra… at your current level I don't suppose you'll manage to maintain it for longer then five, ten minutes… this won't do you much, I'm afraid…"

"You shouldn't be worrying about me…" replied Jun calmly. "You're right, I know I won't be able to hold it for long… but even such a small among of time should be enough to bring you down!" and with that he performed another set of hand seals. "Hijutsu: Kasai Kakuhan!"

In an instant a long, fire whip shoot out of the young Hanayaka's hand straight towards the missing-nin. Acting on instinct, Hekireki jumped into the air and as he did so, a small smirk appeared on Jun's face.

"Gotcha!" he announced while performing another set of hand seals. "Hijutsu: Ryuusei Tooriame!" and right before Urusai's eyes his whip turned into tens of small, fire bullets, which all headed at the defenseless blue-haired boy.

Hekireki only covered his face and surrounded himself with even more electricity, right before the small fireballs hit him, creating a large cloud of smoke. Jun was breathing heavily as he observed the missing-nin who crushed against the ground just few meters away from him.

"Why did he created that electric field?" wondered the blonde as he appeared next to his teammate. The young Hanayaka replied without even looking at the loud mouth as he was still observing the place Hekireki crushed:

"Those electric waves were suppose to destroy my fireballs the moment they'd hit it… there was no chance for him to avoid that attack, but with the two elements canceling each other out, I guess he tried to lower the damage…"

"I hate smarty pants…" announced the blue-haired boy as he slowly stood back up with several burns showing on his body. "You really are a pain, Hanayaka… I guess I really should dispose of you…" and with that he performed few, quick hand seals: "Raiton: Rairyuudan no Jutsu!"

Suddenly the electricity surrounding him shoot up and formed into a dragon which headed straight at the surprised Jun. But before the attack reached the young Hanayaka, Urusai appeared and pushed his teammate aside, thus receiving the full impact.

"_Shit!_" Hekireki cursed in his mind. "_If that brat dies by my hand, Uragiri-sama will give me slow and painful death!_" and he instantly dropped the jutsu, saving the blonde's life, but the leaf-nin's body was still burnt even worse then his own body.

Before Hekireki could do anything, Jun appeared behind him with a sword shaped from the flames and pierced the missing-nin through the chest. The blue-haired boy let out a scream of pain and collapsed to the ground.

"This is the end…" announced the young Hanayaka, barely standing on his feet. "We win…"

"That brat…" was all Hekireki managed to say in a weak voice. "Why on Earth… did he pushed you aside… risking his own life? That attack… could easily kill him… was he not aware of that?"

"Actually, I believe he knew it perfectly…" replied Jun, collapsing to his left knee.

"Then why…?" began the blue-haired boy, only to hear Urusai's, who was slowly walking towards them, shaking, answer:

"I did the same thing your brother did for you… I knew perfectly that if that dragon would hit Jun, he'd be instantly killed… that technique surprised him so much that I was certain he won't move on time… so I just had to do something…"

"But by pushing him aside you received the full impact…" reminded Hekireki. "Why would you throw your life away for someone else? What good would that do to you?"

"And why did your brother allow you to kill him?" replied Urusai calmly, using all his strength to keep standing. "Don't be an idiot: he was the Raikage and with the help of those ANBU he certainly could've taken you out if he wanted too… it never crossed your mind? When he agreed for you becoming the Raijuu vessel that he never intended to kill you?"

"Well then, he had a funny way to show it, considering I got stabbed on his order!"

"Yes…" nodded the blonde, keeping his calm. "But you were reviewed, weren't you? Naruto-sensei told us about the time he fought in this country and he witness something similar: a boy who was allied with his enemy 'killed' his own companion in order to save him from real death… I'm not an expert at family feelings, but the way I see this was your brother's way of saving you…"

"By killing me?" Hekireki now looked deep into Urusai eyes, who was still the only one standing. "Now that's original…"

"He believed that you'll be able to hold on to life…" continued the blonde. "In the end, you didn't really die… you were just in a clinical death state… and once you gone mad, it was your brother's order that stopped the ANBU from killing you… I'm not sure what his thoughts were, but if the experiment would turn out to be a success, your wish would've been granted… the two of you could spend more time together…"

"And if the experiment would fail?"

"How should I know? Maybe your brother was ready to commit suicide if that were to happen? I know one thing: a brother that wish his own sibling death… is unthinkable to me… because blood bonds are the strongest there can be…"

At this point Hekireki laughed loudly in his face: "It's a great joke for you saying something like that… you wanna hear about family bonds? Let me tell about your own…"

"Your brother had duties towards your village!" surprisingly Urusai interrupted him, yelling as loud as he can. "When you released Raijuu's power, there was a risk that you'd destroy the entire village and yet he gave the order not to kill you! You choose your life over everyone in the Kumo!"

The missing-nin's face froze with his mouth opened and his eyes glaring at the blonde. "I…" was all he managed to say before blood escaped his mouth. He moved over to his back and stared at the sky. The black cloud slowly began to disappear from the sky. "_Carrying a monster doesn't make you one…_" he repeated in his mind. "_Wasn't that what you always used to say, brother? But what have I become…_" he smirked to himself at that. "_Maybe I'm the stupid brat here… or maybe it's this dumb blonde whose talking crap… I don't know, but one thing I can say now… I'll see you soon, brother… and then we'll settle our things…_" and with that he closed his eyes.

Urusai just stared at him and then collapsed to the ground motionless. Jun stared at his teammate with a worried look on his face. "_That last attack shown its effect… with such a strike his nerves were probably at their limits… sorry Urusai, I'd like to help you out, but it seems that this guy was right… I can't maintain my bloodline limit for too long… that last attack… took all the chakra from me…_" and with that he collapsed to the ground as well with his face sinking in the wet surface.

* * *

And so this chapter ends! Next time the end of Wave Country mission! But this is only the beginning of the adventures! What obstacles awaits our heroes? Tune in next time to find out! 

And now for a little jutsu encyclopedia… boy, I had a lot to write about, compared to the previous ones:

_**Hijutsu: Kasai Tsume** _(Secret Skill: Fire Claw) – a technique that can be performed only with the use of Hanayaka bloodline limit. Basically the user must first release chakra from his body and then, using the right hand seals, give it the form of a flame. Then, by using his/hers bloodline limit, he shapes it into claws that stick to his hands (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hanayaka Jun).

_**Raiton: Ikazuchi** _(Thunder Element: Lighting Bolt) – a technique quite similar to Genko's Thunderbolt Manipulation Skill… the main difference is that to fire the thunder the user must perform additional hand seals (but the electricity is still circling around him/her)(**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hekireki).

_**Hijutsu: Kasai Kakuhan** _(Secret Skill: Fire Whip) – a another technique performed with the use of Hanayaka bloodline limit. The usage is basically the same like previously, only this time the flame is shaped into a whip (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hanayaka Jun).

**_Hijutsu: Ryuusei Tooriame_** (Secret Skill: Meteor Shower) – once more a technique performed using the Hanayaka bloodline limit: once the flames are released the user separates them into small, fire bullets, which he directs according to his will (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hanayaka Jun).

_**Raiton: Rairyuudan no Jutsu** _(Thunder Element: Thunder Dragon Blast Skill) – this jutsu is performed by releasing chakra as electricity and then, with the use of the right hand seals, giving it the shape of a dragon made from the circling electric current. This technique can make some serious damage to anyone it hits (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hekireki).

**_Hijutsu: Kasai no Yaiba_** (Secret Skill: Fire Sword) – just like before a fire jutsu of the Hanayaka. This time the flame gets shaped into a sword (**type:** ninjutsu; **used by:** Hanayaka Jun).

And this is really it. Hope you liked it.

Cya.


	21. Wave Country Mission! Conclusion

TADAM! I made this one rather fast. I so rock:D

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. The Wave Country mission officially ends in with this one and soon more adventures begin. Without further to do, here's the next chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #21: Wave Country Mission! Conclusion**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naruto is standing on a cliff, watching the sunset with Zabuza's sword attached to his back

Jun's finger moved. He made an effort to open his eyes, yet fail at the first try. In stead he slowly began to sit up and when he reached halfway, he tried to open his eyes again. This time it ended with a success.

As a scenery appeared before him, he narrowed his eyes due to the sunrays that hit them. While his vision was still blurred, he heard a familiar voice coming from his left: "Finally you woke up… I thought you where in a coma or something…"

"Shut up pinhead!" replied Jun without even looking in the direction the noise came. "That's not something you should say to a guy that saved your life… but now that you mentioned it, how long have I been out?" he asked as his vision got normal and he saw Naruto walking towards him with bandages here and there.

"Counting this one, three days…" announced the jounin. "Our stay stretched more then I assumed… but since you're fine now, we'll be heading back once we get something to eat… Kumiko-san is already preparing lunch, so you woke up at the best time I guess…" and with that he gave the boy a small smile. "_Who would have thought that both of them will be able to awake their bloodline limits at their age… especially in Urusai's case, since no-one even told him about it… I wonder how strong they'll get…_"

"Hey everyone, the meal is ready!" they all heard Inari's wife voice coming from the kitchen and slowly headed to stuff their stomachs.

---------

"It's kinda sad that you're leaving…" announced Inari, who decided to walk his old friend and his students to the end of the bridge. "I have a strange feeling you only came… are you sure you don't want to stay a bit longer? You did get rid of those missing-nins…"

"Sorry Inari, but we really should go…" replied Naruto with a apologizing smile. "I have to give my report to Kakashi-sama and pipsqueaks here have to train if they wanna make it for a special event that's only four months away…"

"Special event?" Urusai suddenly got interested. "What special event?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" responded the jounin with an evil smile. "Everything in the right time, Urusai… patience is also an important feature of a shinobi… besides that way I can have more fun then if I'd tell you right now…"

"That's not fair!" announced the blonde gennin, pointing a finger at his teacher. "You're too cruel, Naruto-sensei! I need a hug…" and with that he reach out his hands towards Ayame, yet before he even got close to her, the kunoichi announced coldly:

"If those hands of yours will get as close a ten inches near me, I'll kill you…" and as she said so Urusai instinctually jumped away and froze observing his teammate walking before him for few moments before he continued his marsh as well.

"_Ayame-chan can be really scary…_" he thought with a sigh as he looked to his right where Jun slowly walked towards with hands in his pockets. The young Hanayaka noticed the blonde's stare and only threw him a quick glare before ignoring his teammate completely.

"_So much for my thoughts they started to make a good team…_" Naruto sweat dropped as he observed the sight and then turned to his friend again: "Thanks for taking us in for so long… you and Kumiko really have to visit Konoha sometimes, so I could repay you guys…"

"You'd bankrupt after the first dinner…" joked Inari and the two started laughing loudly. Soon they reached the end of the bridge and said their final 'farewell' to the swordsman of the Wave Country.

As they left the country boulders, Jun slowed down a little, thus he found himself walking next to Naruto. He kept throwing glares at his teacher from time to time, not sure as to how he should start the conversation, so he was pleased that Naruto was the one who started it for him:

"Is something troubling you?" asked the whisker-marks, looking at his student.

"Well…" began the young Hanayaka and lowered his head. He kept silent for a while before he continued: "You said you knew who that white-haired man was when he first attacked us on the bridge… and you seem to know things about that symbol he and those other missing-nins had… that's why I need to know… one of them mentioned Akusai…"

"I see…" the blonde interrupted him almost immediately at the hearing of that name. "You believe that they might know something of her whereabouts, is that it?"

"I think it's more then that…" replied Jun sadly. "The way they talked about her… what they said… it's almost as if they knew her… and quite well for that matter… Naruto-sensei, is that possible that… you know…"

"Well I'm not really the one to talk about the Black Flame…" announced the jounin as he looked forward. "My experiences with that organization… lets just say that besides the battle we just fought I only was… 'present' when it was formed… I fought the leader back then and almost lost my life… the only thing I can tell you about them, which is a certain information, is that they're extremely dangerous people… about their goals, ways or even members I know nothing… but from what Iruka-sensei told me… I guess the way you picture it is a possibility…" and noticing the boy's sad look he added quickly: "But what we do now is just assuming… you'll learn that in our world very few things are what they seem at first and shinobi know hundreds of ways to gain information… the best you can do now is believe that you are wrong… you'll know the truth once you'll find her…"

"Against that Genko guy I couldn't do a thing…" the boy reminded his teacher. "If she really has some connection to those people… if the only way to reach her is through them… I need to get stronger… and fast!"

Naruto only smiled under his nose. "_And I thought Urusai was similar to me when I was their age… those guys really are exceptional…_" and as he thought that Jun walked a little faster, trying to catch up to the blonde gennin.

Ayame, who was walking out front, looked back at her teammates for a second and the looked ahead again. "_Why they were after Urusai? And why does Naruto-sensei doesn't want him to know even now? And what was that strange sensation I felt back then?_" she raised her sight at the sky. "_By getting assigned to this cell… what kind of dangers have I been exposed to?_"

"Hey, Ayame-chan, is something wrong?" asked Urusai as he leaned on her shoulder.

The kunoichi instantly turned around and began beating the crap out of him: "I warned you, you dumbass, didn't I! What the hell is your problem, you don't clean your ears!" as she said so she was stomping the blonde to the ground with her foot. "I'm not interested in you!"

"Ayame, you should calm down…" announced Jun calmly. "If he dies we'll have to look for someone new for our team and that'd be just too troublesome…"

"Thanks, coz for a minute there I really thought you were worried about me!" Urusai, who instantly got back to his feet, yelled in the boy's face and Naruto just sweat dropped some more with a loud sigh.

"_This is seriously like a twilight zone… I guess this is Iruka-sensei's idea of a joke…_"

---------

"So, Genko failed…" announced a man with short, spiky, blonde hair as he stood on a tree tops near Inari's home village. He was wearing a purple t-shirt with a black waistcoat on that and black pants. On the back of his waistcoat he had the symbol of Black Flame. He had a hitae-ate with a slashed Kusa symbol on his forehead, but what really drew attention in him were his eyes, which kept changing colors. "I guess that should be expected from someone of such a low level…"

"Don't be like that, Reiko…" asked another man with a metallic voice, who was standing on another branch next to him. This one was bold and had dark blue eyes. The left half of his face was covered by a metal plate and he was wearing a jet black robe that pretty much covered the rest of his body except his hands and thanks to that you could see that his right hand was made of metal with claws in stead of fingers. He wore a headband with a slashed Oto symbol as a belt. "He did fought a Jinchuuriki after all… that's not much of an excuse since his opponent was still only a jounin, but you should give him some justice…"

"He was nothing…" interrupted the first man. "To lose such opportunity is unacceptable… even if he'd survive, I'm sure Uragiri-sama would kill him for failing anyway… after all we shouldn't allow such weak people into our organization if we are to realize our goal…"

"This is partly Tsurara's fault…" stated the bold man calmly. "He was Genko's partner, so he should've helped him… with the two of them there was no chance of failing… but I guess Uragiri-sama had his reasons for giving him different orders… so, shall we go after the brat now? With that… Uzumaki Naruto injured, taking him is going to be simple…"

"No, Kikai…" replied the one called Reiko. "We were send here with specific orders… if Uragiri-sama would wish for us to grab that blonde, we'd said so… I guess he has other plans… our mission is simple, so lets get it over with… we still need to stop by at your old home and the trip will take a while…"

"Yeah, yeah… I know that you hate long journeys…" assured the other man, Kikai. "Don't worry, I'll clean things up in an instant…" and with that he was gone.

Reiko looked at the setting sun and smirked to himself: "_That Kodawari brat… Uragiri-sama was right, he's way more suitable then the one we have…_"

* * *

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it. Coming up: new arrivals in Konoha. The Leaf jounin have to make a decision that will effect their students lives. New challenges awaits as strong shinobi from distant villages appear. Chuunin Exam is about to begin!

No jutsu encyclopedia this time around, but considering that quite a bit of characters will be appearing in the nearest chapters, I suppose the character profile will return.

Take care and until next time.

Cya.


	22. Storm Clouds gather

Yup, it's me again! Here to bring you the latest chapter of "Naruto: Beyond"! To start of, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! It means a lot!

Also, starting next chapter, Drak will be responsible for this fic (mostly updating… I gave him pointers on what to write in every chapter… few, later chappies I wrote myself, but the next one isn't ready yet) so all questions will go to him… he'll answer your questions to an extend (depending how much I told him).

And with that said, I believe all that's left to do is get on with it:

**Chapter #22: Storm Clouds Gather**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naruto is playing with a fox

"Yeah, who's the best? Who's the best?" Urusai yelled in excitement and he jumped up and down, with sparkles in his eyes.

"You… didn't even do anything on today's mission" reminded Jun, taking a quick stare at his blonde teammate.

"Jun does have a point…" nodded Naruto, walking behind his subordinates.

"What are you talking about?" yelled the blonde gennin, turning around. "Everyone knows I rock! Tell them, Ayame-chan…" and with that he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me…" ordered Hokage's daughter.

Instantly Urusai backed away in fear as he saw Ayame's eye twitched. Naruto just sighed at the sight and looked into the sky. It was then that he spotted a small, brown-feathered bird flying right above him.

"_Could that be…?_" he thought to himself and then turned to his students: "I need to go now. You guys have the rest of the day off…" and with that he was gone.

"Huh? What was that all about?" asked Urusai confused.

Jun just looked into the sky to see a certain, brown-feathered bird flying away.

---------

"I guess you all are wondering why I've gathered you here…" noticed Kakashi as he looked around the room. "I have a special announcement to make…"

"It's about the Chuunin Selection Exam, right?" asked Naruto from the crowd.

"Yes…" nodded the Rokudaime. "It'll start a week from today…"

"Were the lords of other villages informed?" asked Iruka.

"Yes… from what I've heard, few foreigners are already in the village… this year, except Konoha, shinobi from the Suna, Kusa, Ame, Bakufu, Yama will be visiting our village. With the new alliance with the Hidden Mist, the Mizukage announce he'll send few teams too…"

"Since the Kiri teams will enter the exam, it'll become more difficult…" noticed Iruka. "They are one of the Great Villages after all… but what troubles me is…"

"Oto will also participate…" Kakashi interrupted him shortly.

"I've heard that the Leaf signed peace with the Sound…" began Naruto. "But is it really wise to allow their teams into the Chuunin Exam again so soon? The other, allied lords may not be pleased… Oto Gakure was their enemy as well…"

"I only allowed one team from the Sound to participate in this year's exam… if nothing happens, then I'll think about allowing more Oto teams into the Exam…" explained the Rokudaime. "If I wouldn't allow that, Orochimaru's anger against Konoha might bloom again. Besides, what's done is done. The sound-nins are already here. I think we should rather think about Konoha's young talents. Now, first we'll hear from those who're watching over the rookie gennins…"

Hearing that Naruto stepped forward along with two, other jounins. The first to his right was a woman his age with short, black hair, who wore her forehead protector across her neck. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt with black stripes and short, black pants with a shuriken hostel on her right leg. But what really caught Naruto's attention were her totally white eyes.

More to his right walked a man with long, black hair, clipped in a ponytail that made his head look like a pineapple. He wore a black fishnet shirt and a green waistcoat on it. He had black eyes and three golden earrings in his left ear. He wore his forehead protector on his right arm.

"A yes…" nodded Kakashi, as he observed the three that walked forwards. "Well, are there any gennins in your teams that you'd like to enter into this year's Chuunin Selection Exam? You know the rules, so let's just get this over with. Naruto, you go first…"

"The Naruto led team 7: Hanayaka Jun, Hatake Ayame, Kodawari Urusai… under the name of Uzumaki Naruto I nominate them to take the Chuunin Selection Exam…"

"The Hinata led team 8:…" began the woman. "Aburame Kumo, Emimaru Hinako, Hashira Hisaki… under the name of Hyuuga Hinata I too nominate them to take the Chuunin Selection Exam…"

"The Shikamaru led team 10:…" said the last of the three. "Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki, Uchiha Homura… under the name of Nara Shikamaru, the same as to my left."

"All of them?" Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "I know you guys took the exam when you were still just brats, but your students…"

"I believe in them…" announced Hinata confidentially. "From all the people gathered here, I know their abilities the best. They're ready…"

"Kakashi-sama, they're the ones who'll face the consequences if their students will do poor, won't they?" asked a raven-haired man with black eyes, wearing a black t-shirt and white pants. "And they seem confident in their subordinate's abilities. I think we should allow the rookies to participate in the exam. After all, the time we took it, Shikamaru who was still a rookie, was the only one to pass it…"

"I know that, Sasuke…" replied the Rokudaime, looking at the brunette. "And even if I wanted to I can't force them to withdraw their students from the exam. But don't forget that just because you guys were above a typical gennin level, it doesn't have to mean your students reached it as well…"

"Only exam itself will tell…" announced Shikamaru with a sleepy voice.

"Looks like you guys won't change your mind…" sighed Kakashi. "Very well, you may leave. Now we'll hear the jounin instructors of other teams…"

But before Naruto left the room, Sasuke grabbed him by the arm and whispered in his ear: "My students will take the exam this year too… Hope yours are well prepared, because if they're not, my subordinates will wipe the floor with them…"

"We'll see…" replied Naruto with a smile. "Good luck to your kids."

"Yeah, send my best wishes to your brats as well, dope…" responded Sasuke with a smirk on his face. "Hope they won't fail at the first test…"

----------

"So, you're here for the Exam, eh?" asked the guard at Konoha gates, checking out the pass the sand-nin gave him.

"More or less…" replied a tall woman with a Suna forehead protector across her neck, with long, blonde hair clipped into four ponytails, wearing a light purple dress and carrying a huge fan on her back.

"Temari-sensei…" interrupted a young girl with long, brown hair clipped in a ponytail, wearing a tight, black dress and carrying two, big (_A/N: not as big as Temari's though_) fans on her back. "… aren't we a bit too early?"

"A bit, Nibai…" nodded the older kunoichi. "But there's someone I'd like to see before the exam begins… Besides, Kankuro's team should be here soon as well…"

Once she finished her sentence a boy with short, spiky, blonde hair and green eyes, wearing a black jet robe and a huge gourd on his back turned around just to spot four figures getting closer to the gate: "I think they're already here…" he announced shortly.

The boy that stood right next to him, with medium-length, black hair, wearing a green and black clothes turn around and nodded: "Kai's right…"

A moment later another quartet from the Hidden Sand arrived at the gates.

The leader of the team was a man dressed completely black, with purple tattoos on his face, carrying four, large scrolls on his back.

The one who arrived right after him was a small boy with red, spiky hair and green eyes, wearing a black shirt with short sleeves and red and black pants. He also had a red waistcoat on top of the t-shirt.

The other two, who arrived short after were a boy and a girl.

The girl had short, messy brown hair, hazel eyes and was wearing a sleeveless, brown shirt and a brown miniskirt. On her feet the guard spotted long, brown boots. She also carried a huge scroll on her back.

The boy was tall and had blue hair. On his left cheek the guard spotted a fang-like, red tattoo. He was wearing a white t-shirt and long, white pants. Also he carried two, large scrolls on his back.

"You're late… Kankuro" announced the female jounin.

"Let it go, sis…" begged the guy with purple tattoos. "We were… kept by something. Anyways…" with this he turned to the guard. "… we're the team from the Suna. Team led Kankuro: Chisoku, Hagetaka and Kugutsu."

"It figures you lost the race, Chisoku…" announced the one called Kai.

"Nobody asked you…" replied the redhead coldly. "Besides I see no point in showing of in front of you before the exam actually starts…"

"Stop it you two!" ordered the blue haired kid. "We're not here to fight each other! We're here to become chuunin!"

"Kugutsu's right…" nodded the girl with the scroll. "So quit your rivalry for now…"

"Kankuro, may I leave my subordinates under your care?" Temari asked her brother.

The puppeteer only smiled under his nose and replied: "Go, I'll take care of everything…"

"Thanks…" and with that she was gone.

"Where did Temari-sensei took of too?" asked the girl called Nibai.

"She wants to met… any old friend…" responded Kankuro with a smile. "But you shouldn't be worrying about her right now. You have an exam to pass…" and with that the seven sand-nins entered Konoha.

* * *

And so this chapter ends. Hope you liked it.

No jutsus this time around, but quite a few characters are coming soon (one team was made by Drak) and with them character profiles I prepared. I believe that's all.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cya.


	23. All Other Sounds

Okay, first off I should inform you that starting this chapter, for about a month, Jackyl won't be able to write anything, so he asked me, Shang, to write them for him (but he gave my pointers as to what HAS to appear in certain chapters, so you don't have to worry about losing some plot details… they're just described in my way with maybe just a tiny add-ons). Some were done by him, but since he didn't had previous chapters finished, he couldn't upload them. That's how it's like.

To sum up, I'll be in charge of this fic for a while, which means I'm in control! Now all of you will have to obey me for I am the ultimate master…. Sorry, got a bit carried away :D

Seriously though, if you'll have any questions concerning the story, do ask. Jackyl gave me some information, so if I'll be able, I'll answer them and if not, he will once he'll be… available. He gave me character profiles, so those will be appearing, however I'm afraid the jutsu encyclopedia will be put on hold.

Another thing is updating… well, I have five of my own "Naruto" fic, so this is extra work, I'll do my best to make it at least once a week (don't know how often Jackyl updated), though I'm not promising (it's vacation and there are few problems in my life that can delay it).

I believe that covers it, so I guess I can get on with the show:

**Chapter #23: All Other Sounds**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai is in the jungle and is being choked by a large snake

"You wanted to see me, Kakashi-sama?" asked Naruto as he appeared right next to the Rokudaime, who was now walking through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Indeed I have…" nodded the Hokage. "I need to talk to you, Naruto… about Urusai… I wanted to do this earlier, since the time you returned from the Wave Country, but…" at this point he sighed. "Anyway, I believe you can figure out what this is all about…"

"Yes…" replied the jounin. "You want to know about Urusai and the seal?" Kakashi only nodded slightly. "Well, I wasn't around when that happened and by the time I got there, Urusai was already back to normal, but… that feeling I had, it was without a doubt the same feeling one gets when Kodawari activates his bloodline limit nearby… and at the same time, it was slightly different then I remembered it… more scary…"

"This is most disturbing…" announced the Rokudaime. "Not only didn't my seal prevent Urusai from activating his flame, it also made things worse then they could've been… at this point, unsealing it might make the situation even more dangerous… since he was able to use his bloodline, it means my seal isn't effective enough… if we were to take it off, it might be that the flame will light up itself…"

"Well, so far this only happened once…" reminded Naruto. "The best we can do now is hope that this was just a one-timer… however, if it worries you this much, Kakashi-sama, maybe I should banned my subordinates from the exams?"

"No, this wouldn't be wise…" replied the Hokage. "Do so and other jounins might get suspicious about Urusai… the last thing we need is panic…" and with that he sighed. "_Plus, Ayame would turn my life to hell if she'd find out about this…_"

"I understand…" assured the blonde. "We shouldn't ignore the risk though, Kakashi-sama… would you really want the replay of what happened thirteen years ago?" the Rokudaime just looked at him for a moment, yet didn't answer.

----------

"I can't believe Naruto-sensei actually recommended us to take the Chuunin Selection Exam!" yelled Urusai cheerfully. "We're so gonna kick ass!"

"Yeah, we know…" announced Jun in an annoyed voice. "You said it a hundred times already! And what are you excited about anyway? The exams are in three day from today…"

"Yeah, that's the exciting part!" stated the blonde happily. "I'm gonna show off how wonderful I am and be promoted to chuunin in no time! And then it's only a step away from becoming Hokage! Just wait!" but as he said so, they all heard a loud laughter coming from nearby and as they turned around in the direction it came from, they spotted a trio of sound-nins laying under the tree.

The one that was laughing was a boy only a little older then them. He had short, black hair and green eyes. The boy was wearing a green t-shirt and baggy, grey pants. His hitae-ate was located on his forehead and he also had headphones on his ears.

The other boy in the team had long, white hair, clipped in a ponytail and purple eyes. He was wearing a grey shirt with wide sleeves and used his headband as a belt. His pants were dark blue and his outfit didn't seem to have any shuriken nor kunai hostels.

The last one of the three was a girl with long, black hair and red eyes. She wore a red t-shirt with a black waistcoat on that and grey pants with black spots on them. Her hitae-ate was on her forehead and Urusai also noticed a large harp on her back.

"What's so funny?" the blonde gennin asked, holding back his anger.

"Sorry, but that statement about you getting the chuunin title cracked me up…" announced the one with the walkman once he calmed down a bit. "With your current chakra level, I don't even suppose you could take me down not to mention Toge here…" and with that he motioned his head at the white-haired boy.

"What did you…?" began Urusai, getting his fists ready, but before he could continue, Ayame cut in, turning towards the trio: "Sorry, but it seems you're a gennin team from the Oto… I heard rumors that our villages signed peace treat after many years of war, but as far as I know shinobi from outside the village are not allowed in the Hidden Leaf… may I ask what's your business here?"

"Chill, Cute Eyes…" replied the Sound kunoichi. "We were just chosen to be Oto representatives on this year's Chuunin Selection Exam… and show us some respect, coz considering only one team from our village was allowed to enter, it means Orochimaru-sama choose us himself, so we're not your everyday losers…"

"Is that so?" asked Jun with a smirk. "You got my attention then… maybe you'd like a little sparring before the exams? It might be interesting…"

"In the best case scenario it's doubtful…" announced the white-haired boy, Toge. "A ninja should reveal his secrets to potential enemies… even less when they're on such a low level as you and your friends…" and the moment he said so, his hand moved before his face, catching a kunai that was aiming for his head. "See what I mean?" the boy continued like nothing happened, his face still emotionless.

Urusai was barely holding back his anger now. He reached for his kunai hostel to pick out another knife to throw it at Toge once more, only to have his hand stopped by Ayame, who whispered: "Are you insane? Don't provoke that guy… I don't know why, but he seems… dangerous…"

"Those brats surely don't know when they meet someone stronger…" sighed the Sound kunoichi. "Can I play with them a bit? Can I?" she then turned towards her white-haired teammate, whose face still didn't show any emotions.

Toge just threw her a quick glare, which send shivers down her spine, and then glared back at the three leaf-nins standing on front of him. For a split second his sight stopped on Jun. "_That black hair... the way that he's standing so confidentially… he may be an interesting opponent after all… unlike that brat…_" and with that he threw a quick glare at Urusai, who was now trapped in Ayame's deadlock. "What's your name?" he finally spoke up, turning back to Jun.

"Should you introduce yourself first?" the young Hanayaka replied coldly.

"Kaguya Toge…" came a response and so the leaf-nin returned the favor: "Hanayaka Jun…"

"I'll remember that…" announced the white-haired boy. "I always remember the names of people I found liking of… until I kill them… Fushi, Wooku, lets go… we should report to Kabuto-sensei anyway…" and with that he turned away and started walking down the street.

The two, other sound-nins glared at their teammate for a moment and then followed him. Before the three disappeared from the Konoha shinobi view, the kunoichi turned around and stick out her tongue as she continued walking, laughing loudly.

"Those sound-nins…" said Urusai through clenched teeth. "Just wait till I get to fight them in the exam… I'll wipe the floor with them! Especially that headphone guy!"

"Don't get your hopes up…" Jun interrupted him. "That Kaguya fellow… I heard about his clan… the strongest in the Sound… beating him… won't be easy…"

The blonde just looked at his teammate for a moment and then yelled, once more in a cheerful voice: "Screw it for now! Who's in for some ramen!" and without waiting for the answer he headed straight towards Ichiraku.

"He really is too carefree at time…" announced Ayame with a sigh as she followed her companion with Jun walking right behind her. The black-haired boy gave the last glare at the street where the three Oto shinobi disappeared.

"_This Chuunin Exam…_" he thought to himself. "_It should be fun…_"

Meanwhile the three sound-nins reached the park were, under a tree, stood a man with medium-length, silver hair clipped in a ponytail and grey eyes behind the round glasses. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a black cover and had a medical bag around his belt. A Headband with an Oto symbol was located on his forehead.

"What took you so long?" asked the man, looking at his subordinates. "You should be here for ten minutes already… it's unlike you to be late, Toge…" and with that he looked at the white-haired boy.

"We… run into some leaf-nins and had a friendly chat with them…" replied the young Kaguya, his face still emotionless, just like it was before. "Nothing serious…" he added quickly, noticing a little worried look on his teacher's face.

"Yeah, just some loud, blonde brat, an over-confident black-hair and a weird, masked chick…" added the boy with the headphone, Wooku.

"Really?" asked Kabuto with a smile. "_That description… it'd seem that those three are Naruto-kun's students… an interesting turn…_" and with that his smile widen even more. "Looks like you guys just met the team that could present a big treat in the exams…"

At this time Urusai and his teammates were close to their destination as well. As Jun and Ayame walked inside the Ichiraku, a team of mist-nins passed the three. The blonde felt a strange sensation and threw a quick glare at the three and surprisingly one of the mist-nins did the same.

The two that had their back turned towards him were a girl with long, black hair and dress in the same color, and a boy with spiky, violet hair and a big sword on his back. The on that turned around was older then him and had spiky, blonde hair and red eyes. Urusai also spotted a plaster on his left cheek and a Mist hitae-ate on his forehead.

The mist-nin smirked as he noticed the leaf-nin and turned away, walking after his companions. The loud mouth froze in place though. There was something about that mist-nin. Something strange… and scary.

And so another day was at an end in the Hidden Leaf Village. The beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam was drawing nearer and nearer…

* * *

And with that I'd like to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. 

Before I wrap this up, one final info for you guys: Jackyl gave me character profiles of all his OC (the charas I created for him I can do anytime) so if any of the characters interests you, just let me know and I'll place his/hers profile (Jackyl allowed me only one per chapter).

With that said, I believe this chapter ends.

Best wishes and until next time.


	24. Old Rivals

Yeah, I know I said I'll be updating once a week. Sorry for the delay, but I had some trouble with my PC and basically, not only this but also my own fics are delayed because of this. But I managed to finish this chapter just today and so I upload it.

I didn't spot any questions in your reviews from last time, so I guess the only thing left for me to do is to get on with it:

**Chapter #24: Old Rivals**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto is standing back to back with Sasuke

"Hey, did you guys heard?" asked the girl with medium-length, messy, brown hair, clipped in a ponytail, hazel eyes and red, fang tattoos on her cheeks. She was wearing a blue t-shirt, grey pants and wore her hitae-ate with a Leaf symbol on her forehead. There was also a grey-furred dog walking near her feet. "Looks like this year rookies will enter the exams…"

"You gotta be kidding…" announced the boy, who was laying on a tree branch. He had hazel eyes and medium-length, black hair, made into dreadlocks. He was wearing a green smock with a black kanji symbol for 'tiger' on its back. He wore a little baggy, black pants and had his headband on his forehead, just like the girl. "How can anyone send kids on a men's challenge?"

"You're really mean…" stated a boy with spiky, gelled up, blonde hair with two braids falling on his face and blue eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt with black waistcoat on that and black and white pants. His wrists were wrapped in bandages and he wore his forehead protector around his left arm. As he said so, he threw his kunai at a training dummy attached to the tree branch the dreadlocks was laying on. It hit the dummy's head perfectly. "If they were recommended, it means their jounin instructors think they're ready to become chuunin…"

"Brats are brats…" replied the dreadlocks, jumping down from the branch and flipped few times before landing on his feet. "Even if they are exceptional… do you really suppose they'll present any danger to us? I'd love to take them all by myself…"

"Either way…" began the girl, smiling widely. "I can't wait for that exam to begin…" and with this she began spinning and flew straight towards the training dummy, ripping it to pieces once her attack connected with it.

---The next day---

Urusai and his teammates walked through the hallways of the Ninja Academy. As the daughter of Kakashi looked around, she noticed tens of shinobi gathered and waiting for the exams to start. There were ninjas from every village, allied to the Leaf: Suna, Kusa, Ame, Bakufu as well as Yama, Oto and Kiri.

"What classroom was it again?" asked the blonde confused as he looked around.

"301!" yelled Ayame, landing a hit on the back of her teammates head. "Can't you read! It's written in that application form Naruto-sensei gave us! How do you expect to become a chuunin with that tiny brain of yours!"

"So, you guys are Uzumaki Naruto's subordinates?" the three of them heard a voice and as they turned in the direction it came from, they saw a team of a year older leaf-nins standing in front of them. The one out front was a boy with black hair made into dreadlocks, wearing a green smock. "Sasuke-sensei told us to watch out for you guys, to be honest I'm not sure what he meant… you guys are rather weak…"

"Dammit, another one!" yelled Urusai as he charged straight at the dreadlocks. "Just wait, I'm gonna kick your ass sooner then you can say 'ouch'!" and with that he threw a punch at the boys face, only to see his opponent spin on his foot and avoiding being hit.

With a confident smile still showing on his face, the older leaf-nin came to a stop as he found himself standing back to back with the blonde and landed an elbow in the boy's back. Urusai lost his balance and felt to the floor with his face down.

"That's why I said kids shouldn't be allowed into a men's challenge…" announced the dreadlocks with a smirk and as he looked at the blonde's teammates, he noticed Jun charging straight at him, aiming a kick at his face.

In an instant the older gennin bended over and grabbed Jun's leg from below, thus keeping it above the ground. The young Hanayaka only smirked as he lifted his other foot too and aimed a kick in the dreadlock's face again.

This time the older gennin's face shown surprise as he let go of his opponent's leg and jumped into the air, bouncing from the floor with his free hand to give him a great force. Sasuke's pupil somersaulted once and landed on his feet right next to his two teammates.

"_That brat…_" he thought to himself with a small smile. "_He's pretty good…_" and with that his smile widen. "Nice… I guess I'll have to be a little more serious with you…" and so he prepared himself to jump right at Jun, only to be stopped by his teammate, who placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Kyoudai-kun, please stop…" asked the blonde boy with his hair gelled up. "You should save your strength for the exams… and besides, fighting the participants outside the exams can make us disqualified…"

"Waste my strength?" responded the dreadlocks with a smirk. "Do you really suppose those brats can even make me draw a sweat?" and with that he pointed at Urusai and Jun who were now standing next to each other with Ayame a little behind.

"Just leave it…" advised the girl with red tattoos on her cheeks. "You know Dajaku don't approve fighting when it's not necessary… besides, it's like you said, those kids aren't really a treat to us…"

"You shouldn't underestimate us…" announced Urusai. "Don't think we shown you what we can really do… if you won't take us seriously, you'll regret it…"

"You don't get the situation, brat…" announced the dreadlocks, Kyoudai. "The ones who didn't revealed their thumb cards here… are us… and further more, let me tell you that our sensei is an old time rival of yours… I guess those exams are another chance for them to compete… you know, to see whose subordinates are stronger… and right now I can tell that Sasuke-sensei wins by a mile…" and so he turned around to his teammates. "Lets go…"

"Uh, I'm so scared…" joked the loud mouth, pretending to be frightened. "Remember this: I, Kodawari Urusai, will be the one to kick your ass during this exam!"

The dreadlocks stopped in his tracks and smiled widely while turning back to the blonde. "It's a deal then… I'll see you during the exams…" and so he walked away with his female companion.

The blonde with gelled up hair glanced after his teammates and then spoke to the three, young gennin: "Please forgive Kyoudai… he tends to be very impulsive… my name is Fuujiru Dajaku and I hope we'll be able to become friends…" and with that he held out his hand.

Urusai hesitated for a moment, but then grabbed the other blonde's hand and shook it: "Sounds like a plan… but what is it with your teammates? They're acting like a bunch of… well, you know…"

"Kyoudai is pretty confident, considering he was the top of his class when he was leaving the Academy…" replied Dajaku with a little sad voice. "And Hige is the heir of the Inuzuka clan, so she believes she's the queen of the world… but they're not so bad once you get to know them… and don't worry about the thing Kyoudai said…"

"I'm not worried…" announced Urusai. "I'm the guy that's gonna become Hokage, how would it look like if I'd allow someone like that to defeat me?" and with that he smiled widely to the older gennin.

"I see…" announced the gelled up blonde, returning the smile. "Good luck during the exams then…" and so he followed his teammates. "_I guess he's that Dead Last this year… I wonder how far can the two of us get…_"

---Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Leaf---

"Chill out, dope…" whined Sasuke as he glared at Naruto, who was standing right in front of him. "We're currently tied at 50 wins each… can't you leave it at that? And don't even try that old 'you're scared' crap, coz it won't work on me this time…"

"Come on, you can't seriously be satisfied with having a tie!" stated the blonde jounin with an evil smile. "A quick game of 'rock, paper, scissors'… this should do just fine…"

"I have other business, pinhead…" began the raven-haired, but they both froze as a mysterious, hooded figure walked right next to them. The two jounin glared at the man and then exchanged glances with each other. "You felt that?"

"Of course…" replied Naruto. "What's with that guys chakra?"

"I do not know…" admitted Sasuke. "But one thing is certain… it ain't human…"

---Back to Urusai and his teammates---

"Those Chuunin Exams sure gather strange people…" concluded Ayame as walked the same way the older gennin did just a while ago. "_And they seem strong too… this exam… isn't gonna be as easy as I first thought it would…_"

"_First that Kaguya guy and now the dreadlocks…_" Jun thought to himself. "_A lot of strong people gonna participate in that exam… this should be fun…_"

"_I wonder how everyone will celebrate me getting the chuunin title?_" was the only thought that entered Urusai's mind at that time. As the three of them finally reached the door leading to the classroom they were looking for, Jun and him opened them and the three slowly walked inside. "_And so it begins…_" the blonde thought to himself with a smile.

* * *

And so this chapter is finished. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to make the next one till Tuesday.

No character profile this time, but starting the next there will be one per chapter, so if you want any of the OC to appear in it, just tell me and I'll place his/hers profile ASAP.

Best wishes and until next time.


	25. The Challenge

Yup, it's me again. Sorry for a little delay. I actually finished this one yesterday, but my connection got screwed so I wasn't even able to reply to your reviews via e-mail. I guess I'll do it the old, fashioned way. But before that, I will just say that I'm preparing a little surprise for you guys with the next update (nothing special, but still Jackyl's gonna kill me for doing that). And if you can, do update so that the "big man" won't think I ruined his fic, will ya? (if you can, I'd be grateful for reading my own fics too).

Now, to your reviews from last time:

**_When will we see the other rookies:_** they'll make an entry in this chapter (like most important gennin will), which kinda makes me happy, coz one of the two, rookie teams is the one I created

**_Naruto and Sasuke act like Kakashi and Gai:_** from what Jackyl told me, that's how they were suppose to act (it's a deja-vu joke). I'm pretty sure Jack will be pleased to know that his idea worked.

And I believe that covers it, so all that's left for me to do is to get on with the show:

**Chapter #25: The Challenge**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Jun and Urusai are starring in the Mortal Kombat game and Ayame is the one playing it

And so Urusai, Jun and Ayame entered the room. But what they saw made them a bit nervous.

There were hundreds of gennin in it! Not only from Konoha but from every, allied village! They were all sitting on the desks and as soon as the three entered the room all eyes turned in their direction.

After a moment most of the 'viewers' got back to what they were doing before Naruto's students entered the room, but few still kept an eye on them.

"So?" asked the female mist-nin with long, black hair, wearing a black t-shirt and short, a little baggy pants in the same color. She wore her hitae-ate on her forehead and had a lot of wooden hostels on both her legs and arms. "Is that the brat?"

"Looks like it…" nodded another mist-nin, wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and dark blue pants. He had grey eyes and spiky, violet hair. His headband was also located on his forehead and you could see a large sword on his back. "What do you think, Kigahen?"

The third mist-nin with medium-length, spiky, blonde hair and red eyes with a plaster on his left cheek, wearing a black and red jumpsuit with a kanji symbol for fire in a yellow circle on the back, wearing his hitae-ate just like the other two on his forehead, looked at the new arrivals and said: "Yeah, it's him… It is a bit surprising though… He seems extremely weak…"

"Well, since he's here, he's at the chuunin level at best… shouldn't be a problem to you, Kigahen-kun…" announced the kunoichi. The blonde didn't answer.

"_So many people…_" thought Ayame, looking at the crowd. "_They're all here for the Chuunin Exam? And they seem strong too…_"

"Chill, Ayame-chan!" asked Urusai. "We're gonna kick anybody's ass if he'll try to hurt you!"

"Really?" they all heard a familiar voice. As they turned around, they spotted three shinobi in their age.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" asked a blonde with spiky hair and a ponytail falling on his back. He had green eyes and was wearing a white shirt with short sleeves, a red vest on it with a black kanji symbol for fire on the back and a little baggy, black pants. He wore his headband across his forehead and it had a Leaf symbol on it.

"How you all been?" waved a girl with long, light blue hair, clipped in two ponytails that fell from both sides of her head and blue eyes, wearing white, sleeveless top that exposed her navel, short, brown pants and the sock on her left leg was reaching her knee and was black. Urusai also spotted a golden bracelet on her left arm, a big, boomerang-like metal weapon attached to her back and a small plaster of her left cheek. She was wearing her forehead protector as a belt.

"Oh, it's you guys" said Jun in a little annoyed voice. "Didn't know you were taking the exam as well. You think you have any chances, Hisaki?"

"Confident as usual, eh Jun?" replied the blonde with a warm smile. "Well, you shouldn't be worrying about us really… we'll wipe the floor with you guys…"

Urusai looked at the trio, trying to remember anything about them:

_Hashira Hisaki_ he recalled, looking at the blonde. _A guy who doesn't seem to care about ANYTHING! Always laid back and acting cool! He enjoys doing nothing. In the Academy he was second only to Jun. Not my type of guy._

_Emimaru Hinako_ he remembered when he looked at the girl. _Above Ayame, she was the most popular girl in the Academy! Always cheerful, full on energy and looking sexy. I love her!_

_Aburame Kumo_ he recalled when he turned to the third member of the group. He had a light green overcoat, long, black hair falling on the back of his head, sunglasses no his nose and was carrying a katana attached to his belt. His hitae-ate was on his forehead. _A quiet guy who rarely speaks at all! I don't know him too well._

"So we have a complete…" announced Kumo and all others looked in the direction he stared.

There were three, leaf-nins closing in on them, all their age.

"Seems that all three, rookie teams will take the exam this year…" said a girl with medium-length, raven black hair, wearing a blue shirt with short sleeves and short, black pants. She wore a red headband and her forehead protector was located on her left arm. "This should be fun, won't you agree, Isseki?" she turned to her companion, who had long, brown hair, clipped in a ponytail. He was wearing a brown shirt with short sleeves and short, white pants. His hitae-ate was located on his forehead. But what really drew Urusai's attention were his completely white eyes.

"Maybe…" was all the boy said.

_Uchiha Homura_ recalled Urusai, looking at the raven-hair girl. _The daughter of the famous Uchiha Sasuke. A bit of an antisocial character who doesn't like it when someone's not listening to her._

_Hyuuga Isseki_ now he looked at the white-eyed boy. _First son of the famous Hyuuga Neji! He dislike talking much and his face seem to be emotionless all the time! He looks down on almost everybody! I really hate that guy!_

_Akimichi Choumura_ remembered Urusai as he looked at a fat boy, wearing orange, with messy, short, blonde hair. _He always eats something! Isn't very bright either. Just your fat dumbass._

"Hey guys!" Hinako waved to the new arrivals. "Chou-kun, I see you lost some weight! You've been on a diet?"

Choumura blushed slightly and then replied: "Not really…"

---------

"So, they're the nine rookies from Konoha that will take the Chuunin Exam?" asked a boy with Konoha headband on his forehead. He had long, black hair clipped in a ponytail and wore a green dress just like Lee. His hands were wrapped in bandages and his outfit didn't had any shuriken or kunai hostels.

"I guess so…" replied a girl with long, brown hair, also clipped in a ponytail, wearing orange, sleeveless shirt and short, black pants. She wore hers hitae-ate as a belt. "Teams of Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru… if I recall Lee-sensei's announcement right…"

"Heh, even that dope is allowed to take the exam?" asked a boy with short, spiky, black hair, wearing a black t-shirt with a brown vest on it and long, black pants. His headband was on his forehead. "Kodumbari… or whatever that brat's name was…"

"Gaki-kun, don't call other people names…" asked the girl.

"So, what do you think, Kei?" asked the one called Gaki, not paying attention to the girl.

"Well… guess we'll see what they're capable of during the exam…" replied the one wearing green. "Remember, Gaki: underestimating your enemy is the worst mistake a shinobi can make…"

---------

"Brats will always be brats…" sighed Kyoudai, looking at the nine rookies. "There really should be a rule that stops rookies from taking the exam… I thought I taught them something in the hallway…"

"Obviously not…" responded Hige with her eyes closed. "But don't worry, they'll fail the first exam and that will be the last time we saw them… and if they'll made it through somehow, we get to have some fun…"

"You two are awful…" stated Dajaku. "Why it annoys you that they're taking the exam? If they were recommended by their jounin instructors, it means that they're as strong as we are…"

"Stop talking bullshit!" ordered Kyoudai a little angry. "Those brats are weak! And if they'll ever make it to the exam where we can face them, I'll prove it to you!"

----------

"So loud…" stated the blonde sand-nin with the gourd by the name of Kai.

"Are they the ones Temari-sensei told us about?" asked Nibai. "What do you think, Saboten?"

"Could be…" nodded the one wearing green. "They seem like rookies and our sensei did say that we should watch out for such a team led by… Nara Shikaru was it?"

"Shikamaru…" corrected Kai, still not taking an eye of the rookie nine. "_Some of them seem strong… this exam may be fun yet…_"

--------

"Heh, rookies…" smirked Kugutsu looking in the direction of Urusai and others. "Can't be helped, can it, Hagetaka?"

"I don't think so…" replied the kunoichi with a sigh. "Don't mind them, they'll fail the first test and we won't have to listen to their mindless blabbing anymore. What do you think, Chisoku?"

The redhead just raised his sight at the rookie gennin and replied calmly: "Don't be so sure of yourself, Hagetaka… people can surprise you sometimes…"

--------

"Can't those brats keep their mouths shut?" asked Fushi a bit annoyed and then looked at Wooku. "And can't you turn down the volume of that thing?" with that she pointed at the walkman.

"Anger's bad for beauty…" replied Wooku calmly, not paying much attention to his teammate.

"Why you…" began Fushi, but she was immediately stopped by Toge: "Relax Fushi… Don't waste your energy before the exam starts."

----------

The rookie nine kept talking before a cloud of white smoke covered the whole room.

As the smoke cleared chuunin wanabies saw older shinobi standing right before them.

"Keep it down, brats!" yelled a woman with long, blonde hair, clipped into a ponytail and blue eyes. She was wearing a completely purple dress with some fishnet on her knees and elbows and seemed to be the leader of the group. "My name is Akimichi Ino and I'm the examiner of the first Chuunin Selection Exam!"

-to be continued- (yeah, document manager screwed up a little, it seems)

And that's that for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Now, as promised, I'll be placing character profiles. No-one requested anything, but as I saw, only Urusai was done so far and thus I've decided to make the profile of his teammate first. Next will be Ayame, unless you guys want someone else. Just say:

_Name:_ Hanayaka Jun

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 4th of May

_Blood Type:_ A

_Height:_ 144,1 cm

_Weight:_ 49,1 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ ninjutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Uzumaki Naruto; his teammates are Hatake Ayame and Kodawari Urusai

_Family:_ Jackyl gave me no info about that, except the fact that he had an older sister, but her whereabouts are unknown at the moment

_Bloodline limit:_ the ability to shape fire into anything

_Techniques (I may have forgot something, so forgive me if I did):_ Katon: Kasai Nankan (Fire Barrier), Katon: Kasai Bakuha (Fire Blast), Katon: Housenka (Mythical Phoenix Flower), Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu (Dragon Breath Skill), Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Skill), Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Skill), Hijutsu: Kasai Tsume (Fire Claw), Hijutsu: Kasai Kakuhan (Fire Whip), Hijutsu: Ryuusei Tooriame (Meteor Shower), Hijutsu: Kasai no Yaiba (Fire Sword)

_First appearance:_ 1st chapter

And lastly, just so that you won't be too confused, I've prepared a list of the more important gennin that appeared so far (lets just say that there are few, more teams that'll play a more important part during the exams, but they haven't appeared yet). Here goes:

**KONOHA (Naruto):** Hatake Ayame, Hanayaka Jun, Kodawari Urusai

**KONOHA (Hinata):** Emimaru Hinako, Aburame Kumo, Hashira Hisaki

**KONOHA (Shikamaru):** Uchiha Homura, Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki

**KONOHA (Sasuke):** Inuzuka Hige (obvious), Fuujiru Dajaku (the blonde), Reijuushi Kyoudai (the guy with dreadlocks)

**KONOHA (Lee):** Naifu Ibuki (the girl), Mekko Gaki (the one with Brown vest), Sakudo Kei (the one with a long ponytail)

**SUNA (Temari):** Nibai (the girl with fans), Sabaku no Kai (the boy with a gourd), Saboten (the one wearing green)

**SUNA (Kankuro):** Hagetaka (the girl with the scroll), Chisoku (the redhead boy), Kugutsu (the blue-haired boy with two scrolls)

**KIRI (mist-nins):** Ago Fuka (the girl with long, black hair), Ketsueki Kenbu (the swordsman), Kigahen (the blonde with the plaster on his cheek)

**OTO (Kabuto):** Tategoto Fushi (the girl with a harp), Kaguya Toge (the white-haired guy), Wooku (the boy with the walkman)

I believe that covers it for now.

Best wishes and until next time.


	26. The First Exam

Sorry I made you wait a bit longer. I wanted to submit this chapter yesterday when I got back from my short trip out of town, but some very important, family business came up… well, lets just say that it was hard for me.

Anyway, those of you who thought that the style in which few, last chapters were made wasn't too good will probably be happy as most of the next, three chapters were done by Jackyl himself (I only filled it in with the scenes where the team I created for him appears, as he allowed me to).

As I read the reviews, you didn't asked any questions (though a lot of you guys were surprised that Ino and Chouji ended together), so nothing to explain so far, I guess.

And I also promised you a little surprise with this update… well, Jackyl's probably gonna kill me for doing this, but since I didn't had much to write with this and the next chapter, I've decided to place them both at once, so you won't have to wait a week for the next submission (there's one, more reason, but I'm not saying what was that).

Now, without further to do:

**Chapter #26: The First Exam**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Urusai is sitting at his desk depressed, as there is a paper test on it

"My name is Akimichi Ino and I'm the examiner for Chuunin Selection Exam first test!" announced the blonde woman.

"Akimichi?" wondered Hisaki, before turning to Choumura and elbowing him slightly: "You're lucky, the first test will be checked by your cousin…"

"My mother, actually…" corrected the chubby gennin. "And I doubt she'll give me a handicap… I'll be in trouble if I won't pass this freaking exam once I get home…" and with that he gulped loudly.

"Okay, I don't like wasting time, so let's get this show going…" shouted Ino, so that everyone could hear her. "Instead of your current, seating arrangements you'll pick a tab with a number and sit on the seat assign to you. Then we will begin the paper test…"

"_A paper test…_" Urusai gulped. "_This is bad…_"

"_For Urusai there couldn't be a bigger tragedy_" thought Jun, looking at his teammate a little worried. "_He's already depressed…_"

Urusai got number 48, Ayame was seated three rows behind him, just a little to his left and Jun was at a far end of the room, way to Ayame's right.

"Do not turn your tests over!" ordered Ino as she took some chalk into her hands. "There are many, important rules to this test. I'll write them on the blackboard while I explain, but I suggest listening carefully because you won't be allowed to asked questions during the exam…"

"_No questions allowed?_" wondered Hinako. "_What's this all about?_"

"First let me tell you that each of you starts with 10 points…" continued Ino. "You'll have 10 questions on your tests, each worth one point. Be aware that this test uses a subtraction system: one, wrong answer makes you lose one of your points…"

"_So if you'd have six, incorrect answers you finish the test with only four points…_" calculated Dajaku. "_Still the subtraction system seems strange though…_"

"Second: this is a teams test…" announced Ino. "Whether you pass it or not will be determined by the combined score of you and your teammates. The higher the score, the more chances to pass this test the team has…"

"_With Urusai on our team…_" Ayame thought to herself. "_We're done for…_"

"And now the most important part!" announced Ino. "During this exam anyone caught cheating will have two points subtracted for every offense, so there will be people who will lose all their points during the exam and be asked to leave…" and with that she showed them to look around as the whole room was surrounded with chuunins observing them.

"_Now I get it…_" figured Gaki. "_They gave us 10 point for starters so they can punish us for cheating…but I'm a master in it… we'll see if they can match my skills…_" and so he smiled under his nose.

"Realize that the pathetic ones that gets caught cheating will be destroying themselves…" continued Ino. "You wanna be proud chuunin? First learn to be proud shinobi! And the final rule: those who will lose all their points during the exam… or will answer all the questions incorrectly will not only fail themselves… but also result in failing their teammates!"

"_Say what!_" Jun's eyes widen at the news.

"_Now we're seriously in deep shit…_" thought Ayame as sweat started to appear on her face.

"The exam will last one hour…" finished Ino. "With that said… BEGIN!"

And hearing that everyone bended over to do their tests. But it didn't took long for Ayame to notice something out of place: "_Who wrote those questions? There's no way in hell an average gennin could answer that! Is it really a test meant for us?_"

"_200 people except the examiners…_" thought the kunoichi who was Kei's and Gaki's teammate as she looked around the classroom. "_Looks like Kei-kun was right all along…_"

"_I can't answer even a single question…_" admitted Jun. "_Plus that number ten that is written to be given fifteen minutes before the exam ends… listen to the examiner closely and then answer… who wrote that shit? And getting so many chuunin just to keep an eye on us… just like they'd expect us to cheat…_"

"_I'M SCREWED!_" Urusai yelled in his mind. "_ARGH! WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? AYAME-CHAN AND JUN-TEME WILL KILL ME!_"

"_Wait…_" a thought stroke Jun suddenly. "_All this… now I get it… they're not testing our knowledge… the questions are too advanced for that! What they're doing is… testing our information gathering skills! Wanna cheat? Do it but so that we won't notice! That's what that blonde meant at the end of her speech! And with that you can still give it a shot four times! Urusai, figure that out before it's too late! Those who noticed will begin acting soon!_"

----------

Hagetaka reached under her desk as a sheet of paper just seemed to got carried there by the wind. She looked back at her redhead teammate, who was sitting few rows back. "_Thanks Chisoku…_" she thought with a smile and began writing her answers.

"_You guys already started the fun?_" Kugutsu raised his eyebrow with a tiny smirk appearing on his face. "_We should get going as well then, right Tora?_" he added.

---------

A small senbon landed on Nibai's desk with a tiny paper surrounding it. The kunoichi turned left where (many seats away) Kai sat: "_I got a note from Saboten…_" she thought, wondering if Kai understood her thoughts. "_Prepare yourself, Kai..._"

And with just one glare Kai held out his hand and sand began slowly gathering in his palm.

---------

Isseki concentrated with his eyes closed and as he instantly opened them, whines appeared all around them: "_Byakugan!_" he called out in his mind as his sight went straight through the other examinees, allowing him to see the answers they were writing.

---------

"_This one looks good…_" figured Homura with a smile, looking at a man sitting in from of her with a kanji symbol for 'study' on his back. "_I think I'll copy him…_" and with that thought her eyes turned red: "_Sharingan!_"

---------

"_Isseki just finished writing…_" noticed Choumura as he performed few, quick hand seals, unnoticeable for others. "_Allow me to use your body for a while then, partner… Shintenshin no Jutsu!_"

---------

Kyoudai formed a quick set of hand seals and once he was done, he called out in his mind: "_Fenikkusu: Takagan!_" and before anyone knew it his sight became hundred times sharper and Sasuke's pupil used it to check the answers the examinees who sat way before him gave on their papers…

----------

The puppy on Hige's head looked around and after seeing what it wanted, he barked quietly to his master.

"Good work, Urufudo" Hige complimented her companion quietly. "Now the fifth…"

----------

"_Once this guy finishes…_" thought Kei, observing the same guy Homura copied. "_… I'll start the show…_"

----------

Kigahen intercepted a small paper ball that went right next to his ear before anyone even noticed he moved. The blonde unrolled the ball and copied the right answers to his test. "_At least you're good in this, Fuka…_" he thought to himself.

----------

Toge was just sitting on his seat and listening. "_Now which one is the guy I'm looking for… oh, here it is..._" he become motionless as the sound of someone's pen got to his ears. "_Stroke order… among of strokes… there you go…_" he smiled to himself as he began writing on his paper.

---------

A bee flu right next to Kumo. The boy gave it an asking glare and after a moment he began writing answers on his paper. "_Now to show these to Hinako and Hisaki…_" and with that thought he moved his fingers slightly.

Only thanks to the shinning sun could a good eye spot thick strings attached to the boy's fingers. But if you'd look higher to the roof you'd see that the strings hold few, small mirrors under the ceiling. Mirrors that deflected his test. They were camouflaged by a lamp hanging just next to them.

----------

Hinako looked up to see the mirrors and answers deflected in them. She looked behind her, where Hisaki sat and gave him a small wink. "_Here we go, cutie…_" and with that she bended over, starting to copy the notes from the mirrors.

----------

Hisaki looked at Hinako's back where her metal 'boomerang' was attached. The weapon deflected the mirrors attached to the ceiling. "_Double deflection might make this a bit longer then expected…_" he thought to himself as he began writing answers on his test. "_Stay like this for a while, Hinako…_"

----------

"_Finished…_" thought Ayame with a smile. "_Now I just have to wait for the tenth question…_"

"_Okay, that was the last one…_" Jun put away his pen. "_Seems that I did a good thing coping the answers of that guy…_" and so he smiled, looking at the man with the kanji symbol for 'study' on his back, that sat few seats away from him in the same row.

"_Thirteen teams failed already…_" noticed Kugutsu as he looked around. "_Guess it's high time to go to the bathroom…_" and with that thought he raised his hand.

"_Such a lame trick…_" thought Saboten, looking at his fellow sand-nin.

----------

"_Well, all the losers failed already…_" figured Ino as she looked around the classroom. "_Guess it's high time for the main part of the show…_" and with that thought she gathered some air: "Okay, listen up! You guys have fifteen minutes before the test is over. Time to reveal the tenth question!"

"_This is my only chance…_" thought Urusai with determination.

**_-I gotta keep in mind to make a line in word at the end of the chapter ARGH!-_**

And that's that for this chapter. But don't go nowhere, coz the next chapter will be up in a sec!

As in the previous chappie, I'm placing the character profile. This time it'll be Ayame as she's the only one from the "main" team that wasn't described yet:

_Name:_ Hatake Ayame

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 17th of December

_Blood Type:_ AB

_Height:_ 141,6 cm

_Weight:_ 45,2 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ genjutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Uzumaki Naruto; her teammates are Hanayaka Jun and Kodawari Urusai

_Family:_ as you probably know, her parents are Hatake Kakashi (the Rokudaime) and Yuuhi Kurenai

_Bloodline limit:_ none from what I know

_Techniques (I may have forgot something, so forgive me if I did):_ Konohagakure no Jutsu (Hidden Leaf Skill), Genjutsu: Shichi Kage no Mai (Genjutsu: Seven Shadows Dance)

_First appearance:_ 1st chapter

And now jutsu encyclopedia. As I said, I don't know about the descriptions, but at least I can give you the translations:

_Shintenshin no Jutsu_ (Mind-Body Switch Skill)

_Fenikkusu: Takagan_ (Phoenix: Hawkeye)

And that's this for this chapter. Now off to the next!


	27. First Exam! Conclusion

Okay, as promised, here's the next chapter. Not much to say here as I said everything I had to say in the previous one, I guess, so without any delays:

**Chapter #27: The First Exam! Conclusion**

**_Chapter Cover:_** river outside the village: Jun is fishing from a large rock near the water, Urusai is jumping into the water from a cliff, Ayame is swimming on a boat and Naruto is sleeping on the ground

"Time to reveal the tenth question!" announced Ino. "But before that… some rules will be added…"

"_Say what?_" Homura gave away a surprised look.

----------

"Well, what do you think?" Naruto gave his companions an asking glare. "Will our students be able to pass at least the first test?"

"This might be troublesome, actually…" replied Shikamaru, laying on the couch. "Haven't you heard who's the first examiner this year?"

"I have…" announced Hinata. "It's Ino. With her information gathering skills and interrogation techniques… well, I think our subordinates can have problems with advancing to the second exam…"

Naruto got a little worried for his students, but didn't show it: "They'll be fine… Ino is worst then Ibiki, but not even she can think of anything harder then he did…"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, dope…" announced Sasuke, who just appeared behind the window. "I've heard that during the last year's exam she actually was able to fail more then half of the participants, because she thought of an extra rule to the test…"

"Extra rule?" the blonde jounin gave him a questioning glare. "What extra rule?"

----------

"First of all I want you to decide whether you will take this question or not…" announced Ino.

"_Choose whether to take it or not?_" Kyoudai's eyebrow went up.

"Let me tell you that if you choose not to take it… your points will be reduce to zero… and you'll fail, along with your teammates, of course…" explained Ino.

"So what's the point in even asking?" asked Kigahen calmly. "It's rather obvious everyone will take it. Unless they don't really want to become chuunins…"

"That's not the only rule to this question…" continued Ino.

"_Not the only rule?_" repeated Nibai. "_What is she getting at?_"

"If you choose to take it…" began explaining Ino. "… and answer incorrectly… you'll lose the right to participate in the Chuunin Selection Exam ever again!"

"_Come again?_" Urusai's eyes widen.

"What kind of a dumb rule is that!" yelled Gaki as he stood up. "I never heard of anyone being banned from taking the Chuunin Exam! More so, my cousin took it five times!"

"That's not my problem…" replied Ino. "While I'm the examiner, I made the rules…"

"_So as it is now…_" thought Ayame. "_It's either take the question and risk becoming a gennin for your whole life… or fail this test along with your team… some choice…_"

"And I have… the last rule for you guys…" announced Ino, looking around the class.

"_One more rule…_" winced Hige. "_What is this sick hag up to?_"

"You can avoid the question and still pass this exam…" continued Ino. "But there's a requirement… you guy would have to separate from your teammates and take the next test alone!"

"_What kind of choice is that?_" thought Hisaki, looking at the jounin. "_What trash would leave their comrades? Then again, if you'd decide to do so, no matter how many answers you gave, you're sure to pass this test… these are big profits… but I won't leave Hinako and Kumo on ice at the time like this…_"

"_Dammit!_" cursed Urusai. "_Such a choice is no choice at all! If I decide to take the test and answer wrong I'll be an eternal gennin! But if I decide to avoid it, Ayame-chan and Jun will fail as well… what to do?_"

"_Some choice…_" smirked Jun under his nose. "_Remain gennin for the rest of your life, lose your teammates or make them suffer your lack of courage…no way you can choose one…_"

"Okay, let's start with those, who wish not to take the tenth question…" announced Ino as two people raised their hands. "_So few? Looks like this year many are confident in their abilities… or maybe…_"

The two teams left the room with their heads down.

"_An easy way out…_" thought Kugutsu, looking after them with disapproval.

"_Urusai didn't raised his hand?_" Ayame's eyebrow went up. "_He… he's not planning to leave us, is he?_"

"Now then, let's see which of you wish to get through this safely…" announced Ino as few people raised their hands. "Those of you who raised their hands are to go through this door…" with those words she pointed at the door behind her. "There you'll find information what to do next…"

Kei turned around to Gaki, giving him an evil glare: "_Don't you even dare raising your hand, you wicked bastard!_"

More and more hands went to the air and as time flu, Urusai shaking raised his hand half-way as well.

"_What?_" Jun's eyes almost went out of orbits.

"_Figures…_" hmphed Isseki at the sight.

But to everyone surprise, Urusai smashed his hand to his desk, yelling at those who began to raise their hands as well: "What is wrong with you people? Your teammates are your friends and family, dammit! How can you just abandon them for a stupid title? People like you are the worst kind of trash!"

Hinako smiled under her nose slightly: "_Well said, Urusai-kun…_"

"_Interesting brat…_" thought Kai, looking at the blonde leaf-nin. Then he stared at his teammates, noticing Nibai blushing slightly as she looked at the blonde Konoha shinobi and Saboten smiling under his nose.

"_That shrimp…_" thought Ino, looking at the boy. "_Guess he's from Naruto…_" and with a smile appearing on her face she said out loud: "Alright, it seems no-one else wish to withdraw in any way. Guess it's time for me to announce… that those who stayed in the room, all pass!"

"WHA?" was all Dajaku could say after hearing that.

"The 90 people who remain in this room have passed the first Chuunin Selection Exam test with a positive mark…" repeated Ino.

"We all pass?" Kei's female teammate was confused. "What about the tenth question?"

"You already answered it…" replied Ino. "It said: do you quit or continue the game?"

"So what was the point in answering the nine, other questions?" yelled Hagetaka. "What the hell was that for?"

"To test your information gathering skills. It is them that we tested…" explained female jounin. "The first rule said that whether you pass or not is determined by the team total score. With that we put pressure on each of you: you mess up you take your teammates to the bottom as well…"

"_This makes a bit more sense now…_" thought Saboten. "_That last rule fits this idea perfectly._"

"Then again, the questions were not the type a gennin can answer…" continued Ino. "That's how most of you came to a conclusion that in order to get any answers right, you'll have to cheat. But with just gennin in the room you wouldn't have anyone to get the answers from, so we placed two chuunin at two ends of the class, so you guys wouldn't be left on ice…"

"_That explains why the number of participants was indivisible by three…_" added Kumo.

"Finding the right guy wasn't that hard though…" announced Chisoku emotionless.

Ino just ignored the sand-nin and continued: "Those who cheated poorly were destined to fail. In shinobi world information is extremely important. Sometimes it may save your life! If anyone spots you while you're gathering information, it usually becomes useless…"

"But the final question seems out of place in this case…" noticed Choumura (_A/N: and just barely held himself from adding 'mom' at the end of that sentence_).

"The final phase of the exam… was also the most important part of it…" announced Ino.

"How come?" asked Toge, not moved by any statements.

"Allow me to explain…" asked Ino. "The choices you had to make were painful. It was either take it and risk becoming a gennin forever, fail along with your teammates or leave them on ice. A cruel test of loyalty. Not always you're able to avoid a treat… in the shinobi world it's practically impossible. People who don't take the risk… cowards saying: there's always next year… don't deserve to be a chuunin in my opinion!"

"Then what about those who decided to separate from their teammates?" asked Ayame. "They avoided the question and yet they'll participate in the next test…"

"They won't… I only said that they'll pass this test… but the next exam is also a team test… taking it alone is out of the question… they passed the first test but fail the exam…" explained Ino. "During missions your team is everything. Once you're on enemy ground you can only trust your teammates… leaving them for your own sake is unacceptable… and as chuunin you'll become squad leaders. The lives of your subordinates are your top priority!"

Urusai just smiled under his nose.

"_Who would have thought that mister Dead Last is that type of guy?_" wondered Hisaki as he observed the blonde gennin with a smile. "_What else are you hiding, Kodawari Urusai?_"

"You broke the first door…" announced Ino. "You passed the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam. I wish you luck during the next phases…"

"HELL YEAH!" Urusai threw his hand to the sky in the act of victory.

"I don't think you should be celebrating yet…" they all heard a voice and suddenly the whole room got filled with red smoke.

As the smoke cleared the young gennin saw a kunoichi with long, brown hair, clipped in two buns, wearing a black t-shirt with orange vest on it, short, dark blue pants and a hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol on her forehead.

"My name is Hyuuga Tenten and I'm the examiner for the second Chuunin Selection Exam test!" announced the woman. "And what awaits you won't be as easy as the test you just passed! Follow me!"

_**-To be continued-**_

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it. Next one should be up rather soon.

And since no-one asked for a certain character profile, I'll take the easiest way out and write the profile of one of my own, as I know everything about him anyway:

_Name:_ Hashira Hisaki

_Name origins:_ his first name means simply flames. Considering he's from the clan of fire users, this name fits him perfectly. His clan's name can be translated as pillar… but that I'm not allow to explain yet

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 8th of November

_Blood Type:_ 0

_Height:_ 143,8 cm

_Weight:_ 48,7 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ taijutsu mixed with ninjutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Hyuuga Hinata; his teammates are Emimaru Hinako and Aburame Kumo

_Family:_ he comes from one of Konoha's greatest fire-using clans. He has an older brother, Naraku and his parent names are Gouka (mother) and Karyoku (father)

_Bloodline limit:_ fire jutsus that are known only to his clan

_Techniques:_ none yet

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

And thus this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it. The next submission will most likely be the last one I made, so those of you who don't like the way I'm managing this fic can start cheering already .


	28. Second Exam!

Before I start, sorry for the delay on this, a lot of things happened during the last days and basically I just couldn't find enough time to submit this.

But I also got some news that may make you feel a little better: Jackyl is coming back, so basically this is probably the last chapter I'm managing. Starting with the next Jackyl will be responsible for this fic again.

Well, besides "what Tenten has in stored" sort of questions, there wasn't much more you wished to know in your reviews, so basically the chapter itself is the answer to that. With that said I believe I can get on with it. Hope you'll enjoy:

**Chapter #28: Second Exam! Welcome to the Forest of Death**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai is writing something on a huge scroll, using extremely big paintbrush

"What is this place?" asked Gaki as he looked at the massive trees located on the other side of the wall with a sign: 'RESTRICTED AREA'.

"This is training area 44… your battleground…" replied Tenten with a tiny smirk. "It's also known as the Forest of Death… and soon you'll find out where that name came from…"

Hisaki wasn't really listening. He seemed a bit depressed.

"What's wrong, Hisaki-kun?" asked Hinako with concern in her voice.

"First examiner was Choumura's mother…" replied the Hashira heir. "Now it's Isseki's mom… how come they're the only team that has advantage here?" and with that he grabbed his head in annoyance.

"Lady!" yelled Urusai, pointing at the female jounin. "Don't try to scare us, because you won't be able to! We're not afraid!" and before he knew it, he heard a clang right before his face. As he looked up he noticed a boy with short, brown hair, wearing a green dress with grass headband on his forehead. He didn't seem much older then the blonde.

"You shouldn't anger the examiner…" he said smiling to the Leaf gennin. "It may cause you dead…"

"Kamoku-kun!" came a female voice and as Urusai turned around he saw a kunoichi with short, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a white dress. She was also a grass-nin. "You shouldn't interfere with other participant's business!"

"Renge has a point…" nodded their teammate, a man dressed in jet black robe, wearing an anbu-like mask that covered his face. "That brat is none of our concern…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry…" announced the grass-nin who deflected the kunai that was heading at the blonde. "Keep it down, my friend…" he whispered to Urusai before leaving to join his teammates.

"_That examiner is creepy…_" thought Dajaku as he turned his eyes to the grass-nins. "_Not to mention those guys… he was actually able to react so fast… that's above gennin level!_"

"Before the second exam starts there's something you need to fill…" announced Tenten as she gave way a stash of papers. "These agreement forms…"

"What the hell is that for?" asked Homura a bit suspicious.

"Well…" began Tenten. "There most likely be deaths during this exam… and without you signing it I'll be held responsible…" and with that she gave the gennins a huge smile, making them realize that she's more concern about that responsibility part then their lives.

"_And she's my mother…_" Isseki sweat dropped. "_How embarrassing…_"

"I'll explain the rules of the second exam now…" announced the weapon mistress. "You may sign the forms afterwards and then each team will check it at the booth behind me…" and so she pointed at the stand covered with curtains all around it.

"Just start already…" hurried Kai, not showing any emotions.

"_That blonde sand-nin reminds me of someone…_" thought Tenten, looking at the ninja with the gourd, but soon she continued with the rules: "To put it simply this will be a survival test…"

"_Survival?_" wondered Kei's female teammate. "_I don't like this already…_"

"First let me tell you something about the area this exam will take place…" and with those words Tenten unrolled a big map. "Around the area there are 44 gates. There are 90 people, which makes thirty teams exactly. Each team will get into the area by one of those gates. As some of you noticed there's a tower in the center. From every gate to the tower is about 10 kilometers. Your mission will be to get there in five days…"

"That's sounds easy and boring…" announced Kigahen, making his teammates laugh slightly.

"It would be, but in order to pass this exam you'll need to do more then just get to the tower…" replied Tenten, showing a tiny smile on her face. "You must complete a certain task with any weapons or jutsu you have available…"

"So what's the task?" asked Chisoku a bit annoyed.

"You will need to bring there…" Tenten made a dramatic pause. "…two scrolls, which you'll gain in the Scroll Battle…"

"_Scroll Battle?_" repeated Hisaki. "_Couldn't think of a dumber name?_"

"You will fight over these, two scrolls: a heaven scroll…" with that she held out a white scroll with a kanji symbol for heaven on it. "… and an earth scroll…" this time she held out a black scroll with kanji for earth.

"So how are we supposed to get these scrolls?" asked Hige. "They'll be scattered over the forest or something?"

"Not exactly…" responded Tenten. "There are 30 teams so half so them will get the heaven scroll and the other fifteen teams will each get an earth scroll. In order to pass this exam a team must reach the tower with both scrolls in their hands…"

"So basically half of the teams will lose their scrolls and will definitively fail…" announced Ayame. "Then the other half which will gain the scrolls will pass…"

"It is not that simple…" smirked Tenten. "As I said there is a time limit: exactly five days…"

"_What the hell am I going to eat during that time?_" Choumura was now officially devastated.

"I'll tell you right now that it's nearly impossible for 15 team to pass this test…" stated Tenten. "Days will go on and the distances will become farther. Enemies will be everywhere, so you won't get much sleep. You can fail by not only losing the scroll, but also due to dying of harshness…"

"_This is going to be a pain in the…_" figured Hisaki after hearing her words.

"Now I'll talk about what disqualifies the examinees…" announced Tenten. "First: those that won't make it to the tower within time limit and with both scrolls. Second: those who lost a teammate or allowed him/her to die. Once you enter the forest there'll be no such option as quitting. You'll spend there five days. And lastly: you're not allowed to look inside the scrolls before you reach the tower!"

"And what if someone takes a pick?" asked Urusai.

"Then that someone will have a time of his life…" replied Tenten with a smile. "As a chuunin you'll deal with classified information. This test is also to show your trustworthiness. I think that's it. Exchange three forms for one scroll. Then follow a chuunin to your starting gate. Good luck… you'll all need it!"

"_This will be hard_" figured Jun. "_We won't know which team gets what scroll… nor who's carrying it. If we get into a useless fight with a team carrying the same scroll as we do or that carries none, we may end up dead for nothing. It's just like Ino-san said: information can save our lives. Everyone's an enemy! And since they're so confident, there'll be killing!_"

**GATE 12: Hisaki, Hinako and Kumo**

"Hinako, are you sure you'll be fine?" asked Kumo with a concern in his voice.

The blue-haired girl only nodded as a 'yes'.

**GATE 23: Homura, Isseki and Choumura**

"Finally we'll see some action…" smiled Homura as she looked around at other teams.

**GATE 27: Kyoudai, Hige and Dajaku**

"When it comes to survival no-one can match us…" announced Kyoudai and then turned to his teammate. "Just don't slow us down too much, Dajaku!"

**GATE 4: Urusai, Jun and Ayame**

"_Yeah, just come closer…_" thought Urusai with a warrior face as he acted like training boxing. "_I'll kick your ass big time!_"

**GATE 42: Kigahen, Fuka and Kenbu**

"We're going after the brats first, right Kigahen?" Kenbu gave his teammate a questioning glare and a smile creeping on his face.

"That's obvious…" replied Fuka. "That's what we came here for…"

**GATE 31: Kai, Nibai and Saboten**

"_An enemy's an enemy, but spending five days with Kai… now that's a challenge…_" Saboten thought to himself as he looked at his teammate.

"_Just hope he won't go crazy this time…_" begged Nibai, looking at the blonde.

**GATE 29: Chisoku, Hagetaka and Kugutsu**

"_This should be easy…_" thought Kugutsu with a smile.

"Chisoku, I know you wanna go after Kai, but leave him for the time being, okay?" asked Hagetaka, looking at the redhead.

**GATE 18: Toge, Fushi and Wooku**

"_Now I'll get to have some fun…_" Toge smiled under his nose.

**GATE 9: Kei, Gaki and Ibuki**

"_Lee-sensei, we'll make you proud!_" promised Kei to himself.

**GATE 36: Kamoku, Renge and Irakusa**

"Let's get this over quick…" said Kamoku with an ordering tone.

----------

As time flew the alarm finally rang and Tenten's voice was carried by many loudspeakers placed all around the area:

"The second test of the Chuunin Selection Exam begins NOW!"

"Let's do this then!" yelled Urusai as him and his teammate ran into the Forest of Death.

_**---to be continued---**_

And that's it for now! Hope you liked it.

Well, no jutsu were used during this chapter, so the only thing left for me to do is to place another character profile. I think it's only fair to give another rookie and since the "main" team was done completely and I placed one of my "creations", I guess it's Shikamaru's subordinate time:

_Name:_ Akimichi Choumura

_Name origins:_ Akimichi means "condolence note" and as for his name, every male member of his clan has 'chou' in it, which means "butterfly", so basically in his case –mura was just added to that

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 2nd of April

_Blood Type:_ AB

_Height:_ 142,2 cm

_Weight:_ 59,1 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ taijutsu mixed with ninjutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Nara Shikamaru; his teammates are Uchiha Homura and Hyuuga Isseki

_Family:_ as you probably all know, he's parents are Akimichi Chouji and Ino (no siblings so far)

_Bloodline limit:_ none, but his clan specializes in body enlargement techniques

_Techniques:_ none yet

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

And that's that. Hope you liked it. Since I probably won't be managing this fic anymore, I just wanted to say "thanks for reading" and see you around. Shang out.

Bye.


	29. Battle for the Scrolls

Yup, I'm back! Shang gave me an overall outlook as to what he did. I hope he did a good job and that you're still interested in "what happens next". I sit down to it and wrote the next chapter on my own, so those who disliked Shang's way of writing will probably be happy.

Also, please review, coz it saddens me a bit that the last chapter got so few reviews (and thanks to all those who sacrificed their time to review). With that, I guess the only thing left for me to do is to get on with the show:**  
**

**Chapter #29: Battle for the Scrolls**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai is holding a small frog on his hand, smiling

The three Sound gennin made their way through the forest, jumping from one branch to the other before Toge raised his hand in order stop them.

"What is it?" asked Fushi. Her teammate didn't answer.

"Wooku…" he turned to their other teammate after a moment. "… you sense their chakra, right? Who are they?"

"Well, for one thing they're not very strong…" announced the one wearing green. "Their ninjutsu specialty is… wind… so they're sand-nins… With their chakra level and the ability to control it I don't think we'll have many problems with taking their scroll…"

"Give me five minutes…" asked Toge and then he was gone.

---------

The three rookies came to a stop on a small glade, right between the roots of a gigantic tree.

"Everyone's heading to the tower…" announced Hisaki. "The safest way to get the scrolls is to make an ambush somewhere near it then… What do you think, Kumo?"

"Not a bad plan…" replied Kumo and then turn his head to a bee that just flew next to him. He then lower his head so that his teammates could see his eyes and with his pupils he pointed to his right.

Hisaki, noticing that action, turned to Hinako who was standing right to the Aburame heir. "What do you think, pretty?" he asked her, observing the tree tops and once he spotted the enemy which Kumo noticed he froze his sight on them.

"Well…" began Hinako, reaching out for a shuriken from her hostel and judging the direction from Hisaki's sight. "… I'd say that… we can get a scroll before that!" and with those words she turned around, tossing a shuriken into the tree tops where Hisaki was looking.

As the shinobi star was getting closer to the enemy's hideout, Hinako perform a chain of hand seals and called out: "Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Before anyone knew it, the shuriken she tossed split into tens of shinobi stars. Having no way to dodge, the mysterious shinobies jumped down from their hiding spot to the ground. Unfortunately for them, it was just what Hinako's teammates needed.

In a fracture of a second Hisaki elbowed the first one of them. The other got overrun by Kumo's bugs and the third got cut by Aburame heir's sword.

Hisaki brought his kunai closer to the throat of the one he knocked out and said: "We'll let you live if you give us your scroll. Now hand it over…"

----------

"Survival test is just something we need, eh Urufudo?" asked Hige as she and her teammates were running through the forest, jumping from one tree branch on another. "This exam is going to be fun!"

"Quiet down, Hige!" ordered Kyoudai. "Don't forget that the forest is crowded with enemies. Staying unspotted will be the easiest way to get the scroll we need…"

"Yeah, but it's no fun that way!" replied the Inuzuka heir.

"But Hige-chan, Kyoudai-kun is right…" Dajaku supported his teammate. "We should minimize the danger if we want to last five days…"

"We'll get the scroll faster then that…" interrupted Kyoudai. "I just want to avoid fighting weaklings… if we want to take someone's scroll and get them out of the exam, it should be a team that presents a threat… we can easily defeat weaklings in the next test…"

Suddenly Hige stopped and began sniffing around along with Urufudo.

"What is it?" asked the black haired boy. "An enemy shinobi?"

"Looks like it..." replied Hige, still sniffing around. "They're near…"

Dajaku began looking around a bit nervous before Kyoudai finally stopped him from doing so, saying: "Relax, will you? They won't attack now, since they know that we noticed they're following us. Hige, just give me the direction and let's get this over with…"

"Give me a minute…" asked the dog-girl and as she sniffed all around them, she finally whispered to her teammates: "A little to the south… that big oak… two are at its top, one is located a little lower…"

"Gotcha…" replied Kyoudai and with that he was gone.

Just a moment later screams could be heard from the direction Hige talked about. After another, few moments, three figures fell down hard on the ground and Kyoudai landed safely next to them.

"Just a bunch of losers…" announced the black hair, searching through the mist-nins stuff. "But at least they have the right scroll…" and with a smile he took a black scroll with a kanji 'earth' on it.

---------

Choumura manage to swallow another sausage before Homura took their supplies away from him: "What part of 'conserve our food' did you not understand?" she asked with a vein appearing on her forehead. "If you wanna eat, earn your share!"

"It doesn't matter…" announced Isseki calmly. "It's not like getting food in this place will be much trouble… what I want to know now is if we're sticking to the plan?"

"Of course…" responded the young Uchiha. "That's why I made that plan! You weren't listening again, have you?" as with that she pointed her finger at him.

"What?" asked the white-eyed boy, as he turned towards her.

"I'm gonna kill you!" yelled the kunoichi and tried to jump at her teammate, only to be held back by Choumura: "Homura-chan, calm down… you're the one who said he should be quiet so that we won't uncover ourselves before the enemy…"

"Chou's right…" nodded Isseki. "Now, let's look for some water source…"

----------

"What was that?" asked Ayame, a bit nervous. "Was that a human scream?"

"Chill, Ayame-chan…" repeated Urusai, not knowing which time in a row. "There's seriously nothing to worry about… after all, me and Jun are here…"

"And you think that'll save you?" they suddenly heard a voice and before they knew it a huge tsunami was heading right at them.

As they were hit by the wave, they couldn't fight the flu and were send right at the trees behind them. Urusai hit a giant oak with incredible impact, but Ayame was taken a little to the right and as she hit the same oak as her teammate, she dislocated her left shoulder. Jun was the only one that manage to avoid the hit by using his feet as a break and thus his legs took the whole impact. He turned his face in the direction the wave came.

"_That dark hair is pretty good…_" thought a blonde mist-nin as he observed the action from a nearby tree. "_He minimize the damage… he'll have problems in keeping his balance for a while… and with the dislocated shoulder the girl won't be able to perform any seals… this will be as easy as taking the candy from a baby…_"

As Jun looked around to spot the enemy, he noticed a blonde shinobi, dressing red with a plaster on his left cheek. "_So there you are?_" and with that thought he perform a quick chain of hand seals, yelling: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!" and with those words a powerful fire breath left his mouth and headed right at the mist-nin.

The blonde only smirked and held out his hand. Suddenly Jun's fire attack got covered by something that seemed like a shadow and disappeared.

"What the…?" was all Jun could say before the blonde mist-nin appeared before him and gave him a powerful punch in the face.

"That was my bloodline limit…" replied the blonde as he turned to his right where Urusai was charging at him with kunai in his hand. "_If you're the one I'm looking for, use your abilities… just by charging at me you won't do much…_" and before the blonde leaf-nin knew it, he was send into the air by a hit in the chin.

"Urusai!" yelled Ayame at the sight, but her words froze in her throat as she felt metal near her neck. She raised her head and spotted a white-haired mist-nin, wearing violet, that was holding a sword next to her throat.

"Please, don't disturb the fighters…" he asked. "… theoretically Kigahen is doing this for that brat's own good…"

"That's your point of view, Kenbu-kun" noticed a black-haired kunoichi with Kirigakure headband.

"What do we do?" asked Urusai as Jun helped him get back on his feet.

"I don't know" replied his teammate. "That guy is strong… and his teammates have Ayame… winning this fight will be pretty difficult…"

"You gotta be kidding me…" announced the blonde. "Are you guys really serious? The two of you can't defeat me? If so, then why did you even decided to participate in the Chuunin Exam in the first place!" and with that he charged at them at an incredible speed.

Before they could react to that in any way they both felt a powerful punch landing on their stomach that send them flying right at the tree behind them.

"This is pathetic…" admitted the mist-nin. "Hanayaka Jun, a member of one of Konoha's strongest clans, tops of the fire users… the daughter of the current Hokage… and most disappointing: Kodawari Urusai, a prodigy of probably the most powerful clan in Konoha…"

"Huh?" Urusai's eyes widen. "You know something about my clan?"

"Right, we were never introduced…" the blonde said to himself. "Allow me: the one with the sword is Ketsueki Kenbu, the girl is Ago Fuka and I… am your older brother: Kodawari Kigahen…"

"Say what?"

_**---to be continued---**_

And so this chapter ends. Hope you liked it.

Sorry for no jutsu encyclopedia this time, but I'm a bit of a hurry right now. I'll post it in the next chapter (along with character profiles, which Shang began). Thanks for reading and until next time.

Cya.


	30. Leaves on Water

Yes, I'm aware it took me like forever to update and sorry about it. I have a lot of things on my head (still) and most likely that won't change for a while. I'm not gonna bore you with what it is that makes my free time limited. I'm just happy I've managed to sit down to it and finish this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews for last time. It means a lot. To those who can't believe it, I can only say that Kigahen really is Urusai's brother. And with that, I believe that the only thing left to do is to get on with it:

**Chapter #30: Leaves on Water**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Jun dressed in black in propping his back against a motorbike and behind him stands Urusai, dressed like a gang member

"And I'm your older brother…" announced the blonde mist-nin. "Kodawari Kigahen…"

"Say what?" Urusai freaked, hearing those words.

"You don't believe me?" asked the blonde. "Look closely then: the same eyes, the same hair… heck, you don't even remember the scar you left me?" with those words he pointed at his plaster.

"But… but if you're my brother, then why are you participating in this exam as a mist-nin? Why not as a Konoha shinobi?"

"Seems like you really were too little to remember what happened…" Kigahen said to no-one in particular. "Well, that's not important… the thing is those forehead protectors that we're wearing aren't really ours…"

"We… borrowed them from the Mist team that was supposed to participate in this year's exam" continued Kenbu. "Of course, they were too attached to them so we really had to use… strong arguments…" and with that a psychotic smile appeared on his face.

"Bastards…" was all Ayame could say.

"In the shinobi world dying is an everyday feature" replied Fuka coldly. "Even if they were to give us their headbands we'd still have to kill them, so they wouldn't warn the examiners that one of the Mist teams were… let's say spies…"

"Then why are you telling us?" asked Jun. "What makes you so sure we won't tell anybody?"

"First you'd have to stay alive…" reminded Kenbu. "And that will be hard for you judging at your current level…"

"Don't look down on us!" yelled Urusai as he charged at his brother once more.

"Useless…" announced Kigahen right before his fist crushed the blonde leaf-nin's cheek and send him rolling on the ground for few meters. As he came to a stop, Kigahen smashed his foot into his stomach, thus causing him to cough out blood.

"Urusai!" yelled Jun, forming a new set of seals. "Katon: Housenka!" and with those words tens of small fireballs went right at the mist-nin.

Kigahen just smiled under his nose and jumped back. As the fireballs were coming closer he began side stepping and dodging all of them. To Jun's surprise not even one of the bullets was able to hit his opponent.

"You guys really are weak…" announced the blonde mist-nin as he disappeared and reappear right before Jun's eyes and gave him a hit in the chin with an opened palm.

"_Such strength…_" thought Jun with his teeth clenched. "_We're not even able to lay a finger on him! That's not a gennin level… that's not even a chuunin level! We stand no chances against a guy like that!_"

"Kigahen, you see that those brats are weak…" announced Kenbu. "Is there really a point in continuing this?"

"Shut up Kenbu!" ordered the blonde mist-nin. "That's what we came here for… we shouldn't leave it just because that idiot seems like a weakling…" and with that he turned to his brother. "Come on! Is this really the best you can do? Fry me! Burn me to a crisp!"

"Your wish is my command!" yelled Urusai as he performed a new chain of hand seals. "Katon: Kasai Kyousha no Jutsu!" and a fire spike blasted out of his mouth.

"Not like that, you moron…" Kigahen's sight became evil as he jumped out of the spike's way and in a fracture of a second found himself next to Urusai. Before the leaf-nin could react he felt a powerful kick on his face and once more was send flying.

"_If only I could help…_" thought Ayame, looking at the blade next to her neck. "_But even without this katana so near my throat and my both arms operational… could we really defeat that monster?_"

"Urusai had his chance and since you guys are playing a tag team or something, I guess you'll give it a shot now" said Kigahen, turning around to face Jun.

"_What should we do?_" Jun asked himself. "_This guy surpasses all of us put together! I have to get to Urusai and then attack together… if we throw one attack at a time the chances of victory are zero…_" and with that he threw a kunai right at the blonde mist-nin.

"That's it?" Kigahen's eyebrow went up. "Can't you be more creative then than?" and saying so he picked out his own kunai and deflected the incoming one so that it'd burry in the ground right next to him. It was only then that he spotted an explosive tag wrapped around it. "_What…?_"

A powerful explosion lifted tons of dust into the air.

Ayame looked at the other, two mist-nins. They stood still, calm as ever.

"_Aren't they worried about their teammate?_" she thought to herself. "_Why aren't they helping him?_"

"Are you okay?" asked Jun standing next to Urusai who was just getting back to his feet.

"I'll live…" replied the blonde. "Where's that creep?"

"No idea…" responded his teammate. "I lost him when the explosive tag went off…"

"I'm right behind you…" they both heard a voice and as they turned around, they saw Kigahen landing powerful blows on their stomachs.

The attacks were so strong the feet of both, leaf-nins left the ground. Kigahen jumped after them and once he located himself above his opponents he brought his legs down on them, thus sending them crushing into the ground.

"This is boring…" announced Kenbu. "Kill them already! You can easily tell that brat has no idea about anything!"

"One more word out of you, Kenbu, and you're dead" replied Kigahen, not even turning around to his teammate. Ayame noticed the white-haired boy's body shiver.

"_WHAT is he?_" she questioned herself as she stared at the blonde mist-nin.

Meanwhile Urusai and Jun were slowly getting back on their feet, both breathing heavily. They looked at their opponent who didn't even seem to break a sweat.

"Let's go, Urusai!" yelled Jun as he began to perform a new set of seals.

"Gotcha!" replied the blonde as he also made a set of hand seals. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and before anyone knew it, Kigahen was surrounded by Urusai's… tens of them.

"Dodge this!" yelled Jun, jumping into the air and releasing the jutsu at a place were the mist-nin stood, surrounded by Urusai's clones: "Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!"

As Ayame observed the whole technique from a distance she saw a powerful fire outburst hit the space surrounded with Urusai's clones. As the flames disappeared, Kigahen was nowhere in sight.

A second later few of Urusai clones disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

"_What the…?_" the original Urusai looked around as more of his clones were disappearing, but didn't spot anything.

"_He's moving too fast for Urusai to react in time for his attacks_!" Jun instantly understood what was going on. "_Dammit, this guy…_" and with that thought he began performing a new chain of hand seals.

But before he could finish he received another punch in the stomach. A moment later his whole body was avalanched by hundreds of hits, too fast for him to block or dodge all.

Finally he was send flying back and once more hit a tree. His whole body was in pain and as he raised his head, his vision became blur. All he saw was Kigahen standing right in front of him as he slowly fell into unconsciousness.

"Jun!" Urusai called from the bottom of his lungs, but before he could get to his friend Kigahen ram him into a tree. As his head slowly began to fall down his brother forced it against the tree with his own hand.

"What the hell in wrong with you?" yelled the mist-nin. "Use your bloodline limit! Use it, dammit!"

"My… bloodline limit?" Urusai eyes widen.

_**---chapter ends---**_

Yup, that's it for now. Sorry for no author's notes, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I promise to do it properly next time.

Cya.


	31. Brothers and Bloodline Limits

Yes, I know it took me a while to update. Sorry, but besides collage things happen in my life and my free time is quite limited right now. I'm afraid you'll have to bare with my uploading this fic a little less often for about two more weeks. Hopefully, after that, I'll manage to make it quicker.

As usual, thanks to all the reviews for last time. To answer your questions:

**_What happened to other, older shinobi like Gai or Anko:_** both Anko and Gai will make an appearance in the story (their role won't be too big though, I'm afraid). As for others, they'll be at least mentioned (don't want to ruin possible surprises). Just be patient.

**_How come Urusai learned Kage Bushin:_** this is something that will be explained later on. For now I'll just say that there is a reason for Urusai knowing it and that there's more to it then it was shown so far.

**_Why is it that Urusai don't know about his bloodline limit:_** well, in the Wave Country he used it without knowing it was a bloodline limit (and he didn't really had control over it). Besides, since he was little, he was alone so no-one even told him he had a bloodline limit. That's all there is to it.

I hope that clears thing. Now, without further delay, here's another chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #31: Brothers and Bloodline Limits**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai and Kigahen are standing back to back to each other

"My bloodline limit?" Urusai looked completely puzzled.

Kigahen's eyes widen a little. He looked into his brother's pupils and loosen the grip. "_Could this really mean that…?_" the mist-nin thought to himself. The older shinobi backed away and Urusai landed on the ground on his knees and hands.

"_He's already over ten years old…_" figured Kigahen. "_He really doesn't even know…?_" he looked at his brother who breathed heavily, trying to get back on his feet. "You can't be serious… you mean you can't activate your bloodline limit yet? But Heki…"

"What bloodline limit?" demanded Urusai, rising his head.

"This is a joke!" yelled Kenbu very annoyed at this point. "We came through all this trouble and it seems that this brat doesn't even know about the flame! This is…"

"Kenbu, enough!" ordered Kigahen with a cold, but besides that emotionless voice and his teammate immediately quiet down. "Do you seriously have no idea what I'm talking about?" he turned to his younger brother with pity in his eyes.

"If I knew I wouldn't ask, now would I?" replied Urusai completely confused.

"You really are weak…" announced Kigahen in slight disbelieve. "Even the greatest losers of our clan were able to activate the flame once they turned ten… but you… you're already thirteen and don't even know about it… you're pitiful…" with that he walked closer to the place Jun was lying and picked him up.

"Let him go!" ordered Urusai, standing back to his feet, just to land on his knee once more.

"Shut up…" replied Kigahen calmly. "… or I'll kill you…" and after a few seconds he finally found the earth scroll that Jun was carrying and took it. He looked at it for a moment and then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"_Our scroll…_" thought Ayame, seeing the whole scene and getting nervous.

"With your pathetic skills you'd die during the third exam…" announced Kigahen as the scroll he held in his hand suddenly got covered with black flames. "This is for the best… Kenbu, take your blade off that girl's neck…"

"But…" the white-haired was about to protest, but when he saw his teammate's eyes he immediately went silent and did as told.

"Kigahen-kun, but if we'll let them live, they'll tell..." began Fuka, but the blonde mist-nin interrupted her: "They won't tell... because that blonde loser knows that I'm the only way he can get to our father…" and with that he glared at Urusai with no emotions showing on his face. "You heard that, brat? If they'll imprison us for interrogation, you'll never get to see your daddy…" and hearing that Urusai aimed his sight at the ground. "And besides, even if you will tell regardless, what good will that do? Get this, if you'll reveal our little secret, in stead of just us, more will come and your pathetic village will be wiped out from existence…"

"Let's go…" ordered Kigahen and in an instant the mist-nins disappeared in the forest, leaving team number seven beat up and confused.

---Some time later, elsewhere---

"So, what do you think, dope?" asked Sasuke, propped by the wall as he notice Naruto walking by while eating instant ramen.

"What exactly do you mean?" the blonde replied with a question before a single noodle disappeared in his mouth. "And make it quick, please, coz my ramen's getting cold…"

"It's the third day of the second exam…" reminded the raven-haired man with a smirk. "You still think your subordinates will manage to pass it?"

"You already forgot? The three of us made it at the very end of the exam… and even if my team will repeat our result, I'm sure they will pass… they'll manage… I have confidence in them…"

"Sure, but you know, my team already passed the exam… yesterday… they're currently resting… few other teams made it already as well… the time and possibilities are running out for your kids…"

"They'll make it…" repeated the blonde confidently. "That I'm certain of…"

---Back to the Forest of Death---

"What the hell happened?" asked Jun as he regained consciousness and immediately held his head. He looked around and saw Ayame sitting nearby, asking to take it easy: "You were out for an entire day… you lost a lot of chakra…"

"Right, I remember…" nodded the young Hanayaka. "That freaky blonde that claimed to be Urusai's brother… where's the dope anyway?" he suddenly asked as he looked around and noticed that his other teammate was nowhere in sight.

"He went to get something to eat…" replied Kakashi's daughter. "And even though it may seem unbelievable, I must say that his arguments were quite strong… the resemblance in looks between those two is really big… and he kept saying about Urusai having some sort of bloodline limit…"

"That dope and a bloodline limit?" repeated Jun in disbelieve. "That'd be the day… if he had one, don't you think he'd awaken one already? I've already managed to more or less master my own…"

"I suppose…" admitted Ayame. "But why would he lie about that, when they told us the entire truth? I mean, with them not being mist-nins and that blonde guy being related to Urusai… moreover, seeing Urusai awakening his bloodline limit seemed somewhat like a goal of those three…"

"But why?" demanded the boy. "Even if he has one, what'd be so special about it?"

"How should I know?" responded the kunoichi. "Since yesterday I didn't even realized he had one!" and the moment she said so, Urusai walked out of the bushes with three rabbits in his hands.

"Good, you finally woken up…" stated the blonde, noticing Jun conscious. "We should eat fast and go on… it's already the third day and we're two scrolls behind…" but then he realized that both his teammates just kept on staring at him. "What?"

---That time, elsewhere---

"Dumb Grass ass…" announced a huge, waterfall-nin as he stood in front of Kamoku and his teammates, along with his own companions: a boy with an overly large sword and one with his eyes blindfolded. "Going against us was your biggest mistake by far… and the last you're going to make…"

"This is what we get for listening to you, Renge…" stated Irakusa calmly as he looked at his female teammate. "I told you that we should cover the fire so that smoke wouldn't attract anyone, but no, you knew better…"

"Hey, I didn't know they were just twenty meters away from us!" the girl shoot back a little annoyed. "Besides, if you haven't attacked them the moment they appeared, maybe we could talk our way out of this!"

:It's not like it matters whose fault it was now anyway…" replied the boy, still calm. "Fight is unavoidable now… besides, those guys have the scroll we need…"

"So, you want to take them?" asked Renge, but then Kamoku stepped forward without a word, looking at the trio of waterfall-nins with narrowed eyes: "I'll handle this…" he finally announced.

"You gotta be kidding me!" yelled the swordsman. "He wants to fight all three of us alone? Shimu-san, let me cut him in half…" and so he looked at his huge teammate, who just nodded and so he charged at the Grass team leader, aiming his blade at his head.

It seemed like he was going to succeed, but then, suddenly, in a fraction of a second, Kamoku dodged the attack when the blade was merely few inches in front of his face and before anyone noticed, he was behind the swordsman already, hitting the back of his neck with two of his fingers and to the other waterfall-nins surprise, their comrade just felt unconscious to the ground.

"One down…" stated the grass-nin simply, making the other, two opponents take few steps back. And with that he charged at them at an incredible speed and before any of them could react, his fist crushed hard into the blindfolded one's stomach.

The waterfall-nin cough out blood and was send flying against a tree, losing consciousness just like his companion earlier. The leader of the Bakufu team, Shimu, now began to get really nervous: "Who… what the hell are you?"

"Well…" began Kamoku calmly. "I'm no-one important…" and with that he turned towards the last waterfall-nin, ending the fight in a second.

_**---things happen, days go by… the world keeps spinning---**_

And that's it for this time. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done makes puppy eyes.

No jutsu this time around, but there's still character profile to make, especially since last, two times I didn't manage to make one. This time, lets go with someone from Sasuke's cell:

_Name:_ Reijuushi Kyoudai

_Name origins:_ his first name can be translated in many ways (most refers to siblings) but when I was choosing a name for him, I meant 'kyoudai' which is translated as 'mighty' or 'powerful' to underline his level. When it comes to his clan's name, it's made from the word 'reijuu' which can be translated as 'sacred beast' (you'll learn later why).

_Age:_ currently 14 years old

_Birth Date:_ 7th of December

_Blood Type:_ 0

_Height:_ 149,9 cm

_Weight:_ 52,3 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ taijutsu mixed with ninjutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Uchiha Sasuke; his teammates are Inuzuka Hige and Fuujiru Dajaku

_Family:_ his parents are respected shinobi of the Leaf with both his father and older brother being top ANBU of Konoha.

_Bloodline limit:_ he has one, but at this point I'd prefer not to spoil the possible surprise

_Techniques:_ none yet

_First appearance:_ 24th chapter

And that's it for this time. Hope you enjoyed it.

Take care and until next time!

Cya.


	32. Second Exam Team 10

Yay! I finally managed to sit down to it and write this down. It didn't even took me as long I feared it will… sorry for a long wait, but I', still pretty busy these days and so my time is limited.

Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad to see there are still people who are enjoying this story. Thanks again and hope you won't lose interest in this.

And now, without further to do:

**Chapter #32: The Second Exam – Team Ten**

**_Title Page:_** the forest: Isseki and Homura are having a sparing match, Choumura is eating potato chips nearby and Shikamaru is laying under a tree

"Seriously, I had no idea what that freak was talking about…" Urusai assured his teammates, who kept on pushing him to reveal his bloodline limit. "If I could activate it, that is if I really have any, I'd have used it on that bastard!"

"I suppose you're right…" Ayame finally admitted as she walked away slightly. "But assuming that you have one, why would that guy want it so much? I mean, attacking a team of gennin from one of the most powerful villages, risking being discovered and killed… or worse… why would your bloodline limit be so special?"

"I'd surely like to know…" replied the blonde. "Or at least learn what it is…"

"Well, right now there's no point is talking about it…" Jun cut in calmly. "It's not like we'll find out anything by making speculations and that won't pass us this exam… we need to get two scrolls right now, so it's double the trouble… teams that'll learn we don't have any scroll will avoid the fight with us and also we'll have to fight twice us many fights as others in order to get the complete now…"

"Jun's right…" Urusai agreed. "Once we get through all this, we can ask Naruto-sensei about it and…" but at this point Ayame interrupted him: "We can't…" and before any of the boys managed to ask 'why' she continued: "Remember what that blonde said? If we tell anyone, something bad might happen and not just to us, but to the entire Konoha…"

"I still don't see how this relates…" announced the loud mouth.

"Think at least a little…" responded the young Hanayaka. "What Ayame is trying to say that once you'll ask Naruto-sensei about your bloodline limit, he'll want to know how you obtain information that you have one. What'd you say? My older brother, most likely a missing-nin, a guy who pretends to be a Mist shinobi to enter this exam, told me?"

Urusai didn't reply. He just lowered his sight. "Let's just go…" said Ayame and took off with her teammates close behind.

---That time, elsewhere---

Shikamaru was laying on a branch and observed the clouds going slowly through the sky when a certain, chubby ninja landed nearby. He had spiky, brown hair and was wearing mostly red outfit with protectors all over it. He was a man in his early thirties and wore a hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol on his forehead.

"Yo, Chouji…" the lazy jounin greeted the arrival calmly, without moving an inch. "What brings you here? I thought we were meeting Ino and Asuma in the evening… this time I really didn't intended to show up late…"

"It's not that…" responded the chubby ninja as he walked closer to his friend. "I wanted to talk to you about things that… I suppose you know what this is all about… Ino is worried too. After all, you're the one who taught our son…"

"You're worried about Choumura…" Shikamaru more stated then asked and the large jounin only nodded. "Don't be…" responded the lazy bump. "I know that he may not look like much, but I assure you that he's better prepared then we were at his age… and besides, Isseki and Homura are with him… there's no way those three can lose…"

"I'm still worried…" announced Chouji. "Being a father can be a pain in the…"

"You're worrying too much…" stated the lazy jounin. "As a father, you should believe in your son. I don't have a slightest doubt that my subordinates will make it out of the forest in time with the scrolls they need… that much I'm certain off…"

---Back to the Forest of Death---

The last of the three rain-nins collapsed to the ground as Isseki got out of his fighting stance. He deactivated his Byakugan and turned to his teammates, holding out the Earth scroll: "This was relatively easy…" he announced a little bored. "I was hoping to get a nice workout during this exam…"

"Don't get so excited…" responded Choumura as he finished another apple. His tenth this hour. "We have a complete of scroll so we can go to that freaking tower and get something normal to eat…"

"Could you stop thinking about your stomach at least for once?" asked Homura annoyed. "We can't go to the tower… at least not yet…" and as she said so, the white-eyed boy slightly nodded while scanning the area that surrounded them with his Byakugan, which he activated in a flash.

"Whose turn is it?" Isseki asked calmly as he looked first at the kunoichi and then at the chubby boy. The young Uchiha only let out a sigh as she took a quick glare at Choumura and announced: "I'll go… just give me a moment…" and with that she was gone.

In the next moment the leader of the waterfall-nins that were observing the trio, a guy with messy, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a grey t-shirt and white pants, found himself blocking a kick that came from above his head with his hands. His eyes widen as he realized that the one attacking him was the black-haired girl he just saw.

"_This hag's fast…_" he thought to himself as he threw the kunoichi away, making her land on a nearby tree branch as the Bakufu shinobi stood on his. Right next to him, on the same tree, two other waterfall-nins already got prepared to fight.

The first one was a girl with long, black hair, clipped in a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a red, sleeveless outfit and a mini-skirt. She wore her hitae-ate on her left arm and had two daggers in her hands. The second one was a boy with a long chain, ended with some sort of a wrecking ball. He was tall, had bowl-like, short, black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a mostly black, typical shinobi outfit and had his headband on his forehead.

"How did you spot us?" asked the girl calmly, yet she narrowed her eyes and bended her knees slightly, prepared to jump forward at the young Uchiha. Homura only smirked as she replied: "Are you kidding me? A blind guy would notice you guys…"

And the moment she said so, the tall boy threw his wrecking ball forward, controlled by anger. However that was exactly what the leaf-nin wanted. As she jumped to her left, the ball went right pass her and without a moment waste, she grabbed the chain and pulled the Bakufu shinobi towards her with all her might.

Completely surprised, the tall waterfall-nin didn't put up any resistance and was quickly send flying towards the Leaf kunoichi, who was already performing a set of hand seals: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" she called out and in a flash a powerful ball of fire shoot from her mouth, burning the Bakufu shinobi and making him yell in pain.

But a second later Homura found herself backing away, dodging the attacks of the dagger-using girl, who furiously charged straight at her. Finally after bending back and thus avoiding the swing of the knife that was aimed at her head, the leaf-nin decided to counter attack and grabbed the hand that Bakufu shinobi used on the last assault.

In a flash she threw the Waterfall kunoichi over her shoulder at the tree behind her, but the dagger user managed to flip in mid-air and used her feet to bounce of the tree right back at the young Uchiha. In an instant Homura reached to her hostel, but at that time the last of the Bakufu three appeared behind her with a kunai in his hand.

As he swung his knife at the girl's head, Isseki suddenly appeared behind her back and blocked the assault with his own hand: "You're getting to careless, Homura…" she stated calmly as white veins began to appear around his eyes.

"_That guy's a Hyuuga!_" the Waterfall team leader's eyes widen at the realization as he received a powerful blow in the stomach from Isseki's opened palm and was send back flying.

In the meantime Homura picked out strong, metal string from her hostel and used them to form a wall from them into which the Waterfall kunoichi flew. Once her head found itself tied in the strings, the young Uchiha manipulated them in a way that they'd immobilize the girl, making her harmless.

"Two down…" announced the Leaf kunoichi calmly as she observed the waterfall-nin hitting the ground bellow hard and losing consciousness. "One to go…" and with that she turned around to look in the direction Isseki had his eyes set.

"Damn brats…" cursed the Bakufu team leader. "You're under estimating us!"

"Actually, I believe the ones who were underestimated…" began the white-eyed boy calmly as he turned off his bloodline limit. "Were us…" and the moment he said so a huge ball of meat run straight at the waterfall-nin, making him cough out blood.

"Nikudan Sensha!" Choumura called out as his opponent was send flying against another tree and crushed hard against it. In an instant Homura found herself close to him and searched the boy to located the scroll they were carrying.

"An extra, Heaven Scroll won't hurt…" she stated with a wide smile as she hid it in her hostel. "Now each of us carries one… shall we go to the tower now or look from some, more fun a little more?"

"I wanna eat!" yelled Choumura as his stomach 'burked'.

"Whatever…" responded Isseki and with that the trio headed to the tower.

_**---to be continued---**_

And this chapter ends. Thanks for reading and do leave a review once you're done.

No jutsu this time around (at least none you shouldn't know by now), so I'll just go to the next character profile:

_Name:_ Naifu Ibuki

_Name origins:_ her first name, 'ibuki' is taken from the word 'buki' which means weapon, but you might wanna know that Ibuki means 'mighty blow'. As for her clan's name, 'naifu' can be translated as 'knife'

_Age:_ currently 14 years old

_Birth Date:_ 19th of March

_Blood Type:_ B

_Height:_ 147,6 cm

_Weight:_ 49,8 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ weapons

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Rock Lee; her teammates are Sakudo Kei and Mekkoa Gaki

_Family:_ none of her clan members is extraordinary. At this point Ibuki has both parents and one, older sister

_Bloodline limit:_ none

_Techniques:_ none yet

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

And that's really that. Now, before I'll go, I just wanted to wish you all HAPPY TRICK OR TREATING! Good luck in getting sweats. Until next time!

Cya.


	33. Second Exam Lee's Team

It's me again! I was hoping to get more free time, but that backfired and so I still have less time to write and upload then I'd want to. Luckily I'm able to submit next chapters at least once in every, little while.

Thanks for all the reviews for last time. It means a lot, though I'm a bit depressed that the popularity seems to be dropping. I sure hope it's temporary, but if not I may be forced to put this series on hold (with some many things I need to do, there's a possibility of that happening).

No-one asked any questions really, so I believe the only thing left to do is to get on with the show:

**Chapter #33: Second Exam – Lee's Team**

**_Title Page:_** Kei and Lee are training their 'nice guy pose', Ibuki is throwing shuriken at a target attached to a nearby tree and Gaki is using a log as a weight

Tenten looked out the window of the tower. It was just the third day of the exam and already few teams made it through the forest. She smiled that at least one of them was from her own village. However the other that made it through… not only did they made it through so quickly, but there was also something about them… something disturbing.

She suddenly heard a knock on the door. Without turning around, she only said 'enter' and with a quiet 'crack' the door opened and a man with bowl-like, black hair walked in. He seemed the same age as her, had huge eyebrows and was wearing a dark green jumpsuit with a green vest on that. The weapon mistress also noticed a Leaf headband used as a belt.

"Well, this is a bit of surprise…" announced the kunoichi with a wide smile as she looked at the arrival. "It certainly has been quite a while… hasn't it, Lee?" The fuzzy eyebrow jounin only replied with a smile: "Indeed, it has been a while…"

"You're here to find out about your subordinates, aren't ya?" she asked with a tiny smirk as she came closer to the man. The Leaf's Green Beast only replied with a wider smile:

"You know me too well, Tenten-san…"

"Well, they haven't reached the tower yet, that I assure you off…" announced the woman with her smile fading away. "But then, they still have plenty of time to get here… besides, have you seen the teams that finished the exam already?" Lee merely nodded. "Perhaps it'd better for your cell to fail this time and wait for another time…"

"I nominated them to take the exam, because I believe in their flame of youth, Tenten-san…" announced fuzzy eyebrows. "And I believe in them most of all… they could defeat any opponent… I know they could…"

The weapon mistress only smiled. Her former teammate haven't really changed all that much throughout the years. And in a way, it made her happy. That's the way she wanted him to remain, above his… uniqueness.

---That time, elsewhere---

Kei landed on a small meadow. He looked around as he waited for his teammates to catch up to him. As Gaki and Ibuki finally arrived, he raised his hand up. Someone was nearby. In a flash the kunoichi picked out her kunai once she heard a noise coming from the bushes and tossed it in the right direction, just to see it get deflected… by nothing.

"_What the…?_" her eyes widen as in the next second a team of Oto shinobi walked out of their hiding spot. "_What did they do to threw my knife off course?_"

"This is all your fault, Wooku!" complained the Sound girl as she glared at the boy with a walkman on his head. "If it wasn't for those stupid headphone you'd realize you stepped on that tree branch and alarmed them! That this wrecks your brain… if you have any in the first place…"

"No biggie…" replied the boy. "If that bothers you so much, Fushi, I can take care of those guys on my own…" and with that he looked at the Leaf cell. "You're not all that strong…"

"Seems like we're being underestimated…" noticed Gaki calmly. "Kei, what do you say we teach those losers about the world?" In stead of replying, his teammate only charged at the sound-nins at an incredible speed with his fists ready.

In a flash Wooku moved forward as well and with a sliding motion, he attacked his opponent's feet by aiming at kick at them. "_That's…_" Kei thought to himself with his eyes widen before jumping into the air and somersaulting, he flew above the Oto shinobi.

Immediately Wooku came to a stop and rose to his feet. Before Gaki even knew it, the sound-nin spun around on his foot and launched a kick at his opponent's stomach, but Kei managed to spin on his foot, thus avoiding the assault and threw a punch at the walkman-listening boy.

To his surprise however, Wooku made a quick motion and grabbed his arm between his, immobilizing it before the punch reached its target. Then the sound-nin threw a kick at his opponent's stomach once more, only this time it got blocked by the leaf-nin's knee.

Acting on instinct, Kei used his trapped arm to toss his opponent over his shoulder. As Wooku was send flying, he flipped in mid-air and in the end managed to land safely on the ground. As the leaf-nin charged at him, he instantly slammed his hands to the ground and performed a quick, Belgian Helicopter, forcing Kei to stop merely inches before him to avoid getting hit.

"_This is impossible!_" Ibuki stated with her eyes widen. "_Without seeing it first… that walkman guy… is copying Kei's style perfectly!_" and with that she looked at Gaki, who was already charging forward at the two fighters.

"Enough of this!" he yelled, reading his fists, but then Fushi stepped forward and picking out her harp, she played a quick tone on it.. Immediately Gaki's eyes widen as he realized that even though he was charging straight at the fighting Wooku and Kei, the two were now completely on his left. "_I miscalculated?_" was his first thought, but then he glared at the Sound kunoichi. "_No… that harp girl… she must've done something with that music…_"

As Wooku launched another kick, aimed at his stomach, Kei bended to his left and propping his hands on the ground, he launched a kick of his own, his aimed at the sound-nin's head. The walkman boy managed to block the assault with his left hand, but just then the leaf-nin dropped his other leg from above him, aiming to hit the top of his head. Immediately the Oto shinobi used his other hand to grab the incoming kick.

In a fraction of a second Kei's hands shoot forward and hit Wooku in the stomach hard, making the sound-nin bend over slightly. Before his head hit the ground due to the lack of balance, the Leaf shinobi managed to grab his opponent by his shirt and flipping in mid-air, threw him several meters away, while landing safely on his feet.

"I won't let a guy who copies my style to defeat me!" announced Kei loudly, but just then a sudden blur appeared next to him and next thing he knew was receiving a powerful kick in the face, which send him flying as well.

As he flipped and landed on his feet once more, he looked at the one who attacked him, which turned out to be Toge. With a calm face the sound-nin held out his hand and to Kei's surprise, bone suddenly shoot out of it, covering his arm in spikes.

"We already have all the scrolls we need…" stated the white-haired boy. "So we do not need yours. I suggest we all just calm down and go our separate ways… there's no need to waste our energy on each other… at least yet…"

"_Bones…_" Ibuki shivered at the sight. "_Just who are those guys?_"

Gaki seemed to not care and was about to jump towards the Sound cell's leader, but Kei managed to stop him in time and before his teammate said anything, he spoke up: "Very well… since we too have a complete, this fight is pointless… but be aware that if we'll meet during the next exam, it won't end just like that…"

"Naturally…" replied Toge as he walked out of the meadow with his two teammates following him. Once they were gone, Kei let out a sigh of relief. Gaki, slightly pissed, took his companions hand of his mouth and yelled:

"What the hell was that?!" he demanded. "We could've taken them out!"

"It's not that simple…" Ibuki cut in hesitantly. "That walkman guy… his ability was really weird. Didn't you noticed that he managed to use Kei's movement even though he never saw it before? And that harp girl… I'm not sure what she did, but it'd seem that you were defenseless against her. And then there's always that bone guy…"

"Yeah, he seemed the worst of them all…" nodded Kei calmly.

"You think we couldn't defeat them?" asked Gaki with disbelief in his voice.

"Maybe we could, maybe not…" replied his teammate as he stared in the direction the sound-nins disappeared to. "One thing is for sure… none of them are your everyday gennin…"

---That time, elsewhere---

Urusai picked up another, fallen tree branch and added it to his 'collection'. He really hated getting wood for the fire, but considering that Jun was supposed to get some food and Ayame was preparing the camp for the night, he didn't had much choice really. Finally he found another branch and decided that was enough. Slowly, he headed back to their meeting spot.

As he reached a small clearing, he noticed Ayame finishing putting up a simple tent made out of tree branches and leaves. She located their future, resting place between two trees, which tops threw dark shadows on it, covering even better.

The kunoichi instantly turned around as she heard her teammate coming and yelled, stopping Urusai from taking another step: "Don't move! I've already set traps around the camp… currently you're right in front of a thin wire. Just jump over it…"

"Setting traps around the camp?" asked the blonde a little confused as he did as told. "You want us to get killed by our own devices? What's the point in that? We are going to keep a night watch, aren't we?"

"Of course…" replied the masked girl. "But an extra insurance won't hurt. Besides, most of these are simple traps that are only suppose to alarm us if someone's coming… we're only spending one night here, it wouldn't be wise to set dangerous traps around, just in case we would have to get back here and forgot about them entirely…"

"You have a point, but I don't really think we'll pass this exam by being nice…" replied Urusai as he dropped the branches he collected in the middle of the clearing. "Besides, as Jun said, we have to get two scrolls, so it'll be harder for us then for other teams… if we'd manage to lure a team into a trap, thus avoiding a fight, we catch up to others teams to an extend…"

"Wow, I never thought I was going to say something like that, but you're actually right, Urusai…" stated Ayame with a tiny smile appearing behind her mask. "But at this point we don't have enough time to set the traps that will prove useless after one night…"

"Okay, if you say so. But I still think…" but at this point he was cut off as a sudden hand covered his mouth. As the blonde turned around, he noticed the one standing behind him was Jun. As the loud mouth asked him quietly what was he doing, the young genius only pointed at the forest now covered with darkness, before he replied as quietly as he could:

"We've got company…"

_**---dreams collide as everyone carries their misunderstood goals towards the finish line---**_

And so this chapter ends! Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done. It'd mean a lot.

Take care and until next time!


	34. Second Exam Team 8

Yes, finally! I'm slowly beginning to get loose here, so in some time I might be able to return to updating once a week. It's still impossible for the time being, but there's always hope.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. As for Toge (the 'bone guy') and his abilities, I will only say that all shall be revealed in the right time. His cases isn't as simple as it may seem right now.

Also, I feel rather disappointed in the number of reviews I've been getting lately. Don't mean to scare anyone, but my other fic has already been put on hold due to the lack of reviews and I wouldn't want for this one to be dropped as well. So if you want this story to keep going, review.

And now, without further to do, here's the next chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #34: Second Exam – Team Eight**

**_Title Page:_** forest: Kumo is observing an anthill, Hisaki is eating a sandwich with Hinako sitting right next to him, blushing and Hinata feeding a baby fox

Hinata stood at the view point, propping her hands on the rail and watching the Hokage Monument. She lowered her sight slightly as stars began to twinkle on the night sky. She didn't even turned around when she realized someone came to join her.

"Why are you standing her all alone, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he came closer to the white-eyed woman and followed her glance. The head of the Hyuuga didn't reply at first and only after a moment of silence did she respond, yet she kept her voice down: "I came here to think a little… this was always my favorite spot…"

"So I know…" added the blonde with a warm smile. As he said so the woman finally turned to him and seeing his face she returned the smile. The whisker-marks looked at the Hokage Monument too and then speak up, without looking at the head of the Hyuuga: "I always thought that by this time I'll become Hokage… it's funny how the tables have turned… how I turned them… is it always that once we grow older, we spot perusing our childhood dreams?" he asked the woman, who looked at the monument behind her before replying:

"Not really… we just came to realize that not everything is so easy… that we have other things that has to be done, even if it means to put aside our dreams for the time being… this is what you told me yourself the day I left the leadership of the clan to Neji…"

"I did, didn't I?" the blonde asked himself with a smile. "Boy, I must be really getting old since I don't remember my own words…" and at this point they both laughed softly. After a short while silence felt between them once more and the Kyuubi vessel glanced up at the crescent moon that shun above them. "_How unromantic…_" he whined at the sight.

"Things changed a lot since we were little, haven't they, Naruto-kun?" the woman asked with a slightly teasing smile showing on her face. "Sometimes I'm wondering what part we played in those changes… or were we just by-standers that waited for the changes to come?"

"You certainly weren't, Hinata-chan…" announced the blonde confidently. "After all, you're the reason why Hyuuga changed so much… even though you're not leading them anymore… at least not in the literal sense… but you'll always be the heart of your family…" and just then their faces came close.

However, before anything could happen, if something was about to, a sudden appearance of another jounin distracted both of them. The new arrival was a man their age, wearing a light green outfit with a hood covering his head and sunglasses on his nose and a black shirt underneath the jacket. A wide neckband hid his mouth and a Leaf hitae-ate was barely visible from beneath his hood.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have an important massage…" announced the mysterious man, gaining both jounin's attention. "Hokage-sama wish to see all the jounin that are not busy with the exams or outside the village to come to a special meeting… you presence is required as well, I'm afraid…"

"Yeah, yeah…" replied Naruto with a sigh. "We're going…" and with that he slowly walked over to the man. The moment they stood next to each other, the blonde whispered into his ear so that Hinata couldn't hear: "You know, you really blew a moment there, Shino…"

---Back to the Forest of Death---

Urusai and Ayame immediately reached for their kunai as Jun narrowed his eyes and looked in the darkness that embraced the trees around them. Kakashi's daughter felt a single drop of sweat running down her face and as a barely hearable sound of a tree branch getting moved reached her ear, she automatically tossed her knife in the direction it came from without thinking.

In a flash another kunai shoot from the darkness and as the two collide in mid-air, they both got thrown off course and landed on the ground harmlessly. "Chill, will ya?" they heard a familiar voice and in the next moment Hisaki, Hinako and Kumo walked out to the clearing. "It's only us…" continued the blonde as he raised his hands.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Jun both surprised and suspicious. Hisaki, who all this time kept on smiling, replied almost immediately: "We were passing by when Kumo realized you guys set out camp nearby… we figured that we can visit you… and save ourselves the trouble of setting camp…" he added quickly, scratching the back of his head.

Ayame sweat dropped at hearing that statement. She glanced at Kumo, on who she could swore she saw a sweat drop too, but decided to shook it off. "We brought some rabbits…" Hisaki added after an uncomfortable silence that felt between them and seeing that didn't give the effect he wanted, he kept on going: "Besides, it'll be safer if both of us were to join forces for the night… in case of any attack, our chances of winning the fight will increase…"

"Okay, fine…" Jun quieted him annoyed. "Just give us those stupid rabbits so we could cook them! Ayame, prepare a genjutsu barrier to cover up the camp fire…" and at this point the masked kunoichi nodded and performed a quick set of hand seals.

"So, who's it going so far?" asked Hinako cheerfully as she settled down near the pile of branches that Urusai made. With a quick set of hand seals a small among of flames left Jun's mouth and soon the fire covered most of the pile the blonde made.

"Been better…" was all Jun said, making Hisaki's eye twitch slightly at his companion's cold attitude. Kumo merely glanced at the young genius and then, turning back to look at the fire, he speak up: "I take that you haven't get any scroll so far…"

"It's worse then you think…" replied Urusai before Ayame managed to shut him up. "We lost the one we were given at the beginning…" and as he said so, Kakashi's daughter began boiling. In a flash she jumped onto the blonde and began wiping the floor with him.

"How in the world did you graduated from the Academy?!" she yelled as she shook her teammate. "Shinobi should never reveal information about himself or his actions to an enemy and even though they're from the same village, they're still our rivals, idiot!"

"Ayame-san, you should quiet down…" advised Hinako slightly scared as she tried to calm her companion down. "You covered the arena with genjutsu, but your voice can still be heard in the forest…"

"So, you're scrolless…" concluded Hisaki as he glanced at Jun. The other boy didn't reply, which made the blonde sure Urusai spoken the truth. The leader of team eight only narrowed his eyes slightly and turned back to the other two.

Ayame finally gave Urusai a break, but the blonde sure didn't look too well. Hinako helped him up, thus making the loud mouth blush deeply. Hisaki raised his sight at the starry sky as a worried expression crossed his eyes.

"Go to sleep…" Jun suddenly said in an ordering tone. "I'll take the first watch…"

The night was peaceful and before they knew it sun began rising on the horizon. The fourth day of the second exam was going to be a bright one. Urusai stretched himself as he yawned and only then did he notice Hinako cooking some soup on the fire. "Oh, Urusai-kun, you're up… good morning!" she welcomed him cheerfully with a wide smile, making the blonde blush again.

Only then did the loud mouth notice that the rest of team eight was already up with Kumo sitting motionless on a nearby log and Hisaki sitting on a tree branch above the camp. The moment he realized the blonde was up, the leader of Hinata's cell flipped back and somersaulting in mid-air, landed right before Urusai: "You guys sure get up late…" she stated with a smile as the other blonde scratched the back of his head, still slightly 'out there'.

"Ayame-chan isn't up yet?" Urusai asked in a sleepy voice and looked at his companions. The one to answer was Hinako: "She's still asleep… does only Jun-kun get up at a ninja hour?" she teased as she tasted the soup.

"Jun's up already too?" the blonde asked surprised and then saw his teammate coming out of the forest with water. He glanced at the loud mouth with an accusing look and then settled the liquid down to divide it.

The morning passed and soon the two teams were preparing to go their separate ways: "Good luck to you guys then…" Hisaki smiled to them friendly as he waved his hand. None of the team seven members made a gesture to reply to him as they turn away and began walking. The blonde seemed to consider something for a moment and then, with a short hesitation, he called out: "Wait a minute…"

And as Urusai and his teammates turn around, he tossed them a Heaven's scroll. Jun looked at it suspiciously and then glanced back at Hisaki: "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Take it…" the blonde replied calmly. "We have a complete anyways, so we don't really need this one and considering how little time is left, it might help you…" and as said so Ayame walked out front and slowly picked up the wrapped scroll. He glanced at team eight for a moment and then asked: "But why are you doing this?"

Hisaki threw the other blonde a quick glance before he looked back at the masked kunoichi and replied: "Lets just say that Urusai impressed me during the first exam and that's my way of showing it… besides, it's a payment for letting us use your camp for the night…"

"Thanks…" Urusai finally managed to speak up as he held out his hand. Hisaki only smiled and shook it. "Watch yourselves…" the loud mouth said as the farewell. Jun only nodded with a tiny smirk appearing on his face. Ayame said nothing.

In a flash Naruto's students were gone, leaving team eight behind. "Was it wise?" asked Kumo calmly once the trio was gone. "As Ayame said herself: even though they're from the same village, we're still rivals in the exam… now we have nothing to trade in case we run into some powerful opponents…"

"Don't worry, we'll make it through…" Hisaki replied as he smiled towards his friend. "We're heading to the tower anyway, so this part will soon be over for us…" and so he spun on his foot and headed towards the finish line of the exam.

Kumo only let out a weak sigh and then followed his teammate. Hinako smiled widely as she observed her blonde companion disappearing between the trees. After a short moment she took off to catch up and the three headed to the tower located in the middle of the forest.

---That time, elsewhere---

"Boy, those sand-nins were so easy to defeat that it almost feels unfair to pass the second exam like this…" announced Kenbu as he jumped onto another tree branch, following his teammates. "Maybe we could stick around and finish off few more teams?" he purposed, but none of his companions seemed to care much about his idea.

"We're not here for fun, Kenbu…" Kigahen reminded him coldly. "Don't forget about the mission… even though my brother turned out to be a great disappointment, we still have work to do here…"

"Yeah, yeah…" whined the swordsman bored. "But what's the point in any of this right now? That brat was supposed to be the key, since he's out of the question, there's really no point for us to be here…"

"You're mistaken…" replied the blonde, still calm. "He was just one of the targets…"

"One of the targets?" Fuka looked at him confused. "I wasn't informed that there was more then one target… would you mind explaining this, Kigahen-kun?" she asked her teammate, who only threw her a quick glare, which told her that there was not point in continuing this conversation.

_**---different goals and motives… the worlds collide---**_

And with that this chapter is done. Hope you enjoyed it and do leave a review after you're done with it yourselves. It'd be nice and will help this fic survive.

And now, since I haven't done this for a bit, here's another character profile:

_Name:_ Emimaru Hinako

_Name origins:_ her first name is made from the word 'hina' which means 'chick', while her clan's name is based on the word 'emi' which means 'blessed with beauty' (usually used as the first name). Maru in this case means 'something in full'

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 14th of February

_Blood Type:_ AB

_Height:_ 141,1 cm

_Weight:_ 46,2 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ weapon usage

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Hyuuga Hinata; her teammates are Aburame Kumo and Hashira Hisaki

_Family:_ very little is known about her clan. Her parents died when she was still very little and now she and her older sister are the last of their clan

_Bloodline limit:_ none

_Techniques:_ Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

Also, so that you won't get too confused, I'll place the full list of more important gennin bellow (just as a reminder... one of those teams didn't made an appearance in the story yet however):

**KONOHA (Naruto):** Hatake Ayame, Hanayaka Jun, Kodawari Urusai

**KONOHA (Hinata):** Emimaru Hinako, Aburame Kumo, Hashira Hisaki

**KONOHA (Shikamaru):** Uchiha Homura, Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki

**KONOHA (Sasuke):** Inuzuka Hige, Fuujiru Dajaku, Reijuushi Kyoudai

**KONOHA (Lee):** Naifu Ibuki, Mekko Gaki, Sakudo Kei

**SUNA (Temari):** Nibai, Sabaku no Kai, Saboten

**SUNA (Kankuro):** Hagetaka, Chisoku, Kugutsu

**KIRI (mist-nins, Tsurara):** Ago Fuka, Ketsueki Kenbu, Kodawari Kigahen

**OTO (Kabuto):** Tategoto Fushi, Kaguya Toge, Wooku

**KUSA (grass-nins):** Chitagana Renge, Hongen Kamoku, Irakusa

**AME (rain-nins):** Kasumi, Kasano, Pazu Tso

And that's it for now. Hope you like it and until next time.

Cya.


	35. Second Exam Sand shinobi

Well, the lack of reviews for last time got me really down I must admit. As I said, with all the work with collage and, well, other stuff, I have very limited free time and so I'm not too found of writing a story that has a low popularity.

Thanks to everyone who did review, however with the lack of popularity, I'm afraid that this fic might be put on hold in the end. I'll say it like this: IF I DON'T GET REVIEWS, I WON'T UPDATE.

And now, here's another (and perhaps the last) chapter of "Naruto Beyond":

**Chapter #35: Second Exam – Sand-nins**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai is standing out front, dressed like a rock star and behind him are Kai and Chisoku standing back to back with their arms crossed

"Why you little…" began a leaf-nin with spiky, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a black jumpsuit and a green waistcoat on that as he charged toward, throwing several kunai and shuriken at his opponent. To his great disappointment however, every single one of the weapons he just tossed was blocked by a wall of sand that suddenly arose before a blonde Suna shinobi with a gourd on his back.

Kai stood with his arms crossed as if nothing happened. His eyes were slightly narrowed, which was the only sign that he even acknowledged that the trio of Konoha ninja was there fighting him. As the brown-haired one stopped, re-thinking his strategy, his teammate charged in, a girl with long, black hair, clipped in a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a black jumpsuit, just like her teammate and a red waistcoat on top of that. She also had gloves with metal claws coming out of them.

At an incredible speed she ran pass the blonde sand-nin and in a flash she spun on her foot in an attempt to attack her opponent from behind, but to no vial: the wall of sand was faster and managed to rose behind Kai's back, taking the hit of the kunoichi's glove on itself.

In an instant a small blast of sand shoot from the wall into the leaf-nin, throwing the defenseless kunoichi few meters away from the Sand ninja and in the same moment it began circling around its master, thus stopping more shuriken threw by the other Konoha shinobi.

The last of the leaf-nins, a boy with long, black hair and hazel eyes, also wearing a black jumpsuit and a blue waistcoat on that charged forward and swung his hand at Kai from afar. The blonde's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed that the sand which rose to protect him got slashed by something. That was not enough to go through his defense, yet the fact itself made the sand-nin wonder.

As he glanced at the last of the three opponents, he realized that he was using thin, metal strings that deflected the sunlight from time to time as they were moved by the soft wind that blew.

"Your attacks are useless…" Kai finally stated calmly, still not moving an inch. "I suggest you give us your scroll and we might let you go alive…" and with that he turned towards Saboten and Nibai, who stood further away, not interfering with the fight. The three leaf-nins looked at each other and then once more charged towards the blonde from every direction.

Seeing this Saboten only sighed: "_Big mistake…_"

---Some time later, the Tower---

Kyoudai threw another kunai at the target attached to the wall before him as he kept on sitting on the chair. As the knife hit the bull's eye again, the boy yawned irritated: "This is getting really boring… why do we gotta wait those five days in this freakin tower? At least Sasuke-sensei could drop by to give us some training or something…"

"Oh stop whining already…" Hige shoot back as she gave Urufudo another sausage. "This complaining of yours is driving me insane! Can't you just lay down and do absolutely nothing for a day or two?"

"Hey, I just prefer when something interesting is happening…" replied the dreadlocks calmly as he stared at the dog kunoichi. "And what's worse, we're stuck here with that bunch of sand-nins… they're really stiff… nothing to talk about… man, I'll bore myself to death before the next exam starts… we shouldn't have exited the forest so soon…"

"Must I remind you that it was your idea to pass that exam quickly and get here?" asked Hige annoyed as he eye twitched. "If you won't shut up and keep whining about this, I swear that if you won't die of boredom, I'll kill you myself!"

"Guys, stop arguing like that…" begged Dajaku as he came into the room with some snacks. His teammates only send him death glares and then returned to yelling at each other, making him let out a sigh: "_They'll never change…_" he thought to himself as he placed the snacks on the table and decided to make a tour around the tower.

It surprised him that till this point only his team and one cell from the Suna made it, especially since more then half of the exam has already went by. "_I wonder if it's really true what Sasuke-sensei said… that the number of participants who made it out of the forest in time really does circle around ten people at best…_" he wondered as he walked down the halls of the tower.

Just then he heard Tenten's voice coming from down the hall. As she yelled, he figured there was trouble and so he rushed to the place the voice came from. As he reached his destination, he noticed the group of six sand-nins, divided into two teams and the Leaf jounin standing between them, throwing the redhead boy and a blonde with a gourd a death glare.

"This is not the time nor the place for you to fight with one another!" Tenten announced loudly as her glare went from Chisoku to Kai and back. "In case you weren't informed, fights outside the exam are not allowed! Try this again and I'll personally disqualify both of you!"

"I don't care…" announced the blonde sand-nin calmly as sand shoot from his gourd and began circling around him as he had his arms crossed. He kept starring at the redhead before him, who remained in his fighting stance. "The only reason I signed up for this exam was to fight him anyway…"

'Then come, unleash that puny sand of yours…" Chisoku shoot back with a confident face. "Lets see how good it'll do against my abilities…" but at this point he was grabbed by Kugutsu and pushed away.

"Calm down already…" his teammate ordered his as he looked into his eyes. "Now's not the time for this… Kankuro-sensei will be pissed if you'll get disqualified like that…" and as he said so, Hagetaka joined him: "Yeah and besides, it's not like either of you can lose to anyone, so sooner or later you'll get your match…"

"How sad…" stated Kai calmly with his arms still crossed and a tiny smirk appearing on his face. "Will you actually allow other people to tell you what to do?" but with that Nibai appeared before him with an angry face: "Kai-kun, stop it already!"

Saboten merely shook his head as he let out a sigh, He stood, propped against the wall nearby and was the only one who seemed to notice Dajaku's appearance: "What do you want?" he asked the leaf-nin with a raised eyebrow.

"I…" began the blonde, unsure what to say. "I heard the screams and figure someone might needed help, so… well…" and with that he began scratching the back of his head. Kai only smirked and without even looking at the leaf-nin, he stated calmly: "A goody-do-gooder, eh? Allow me to give you a piece of advice then: if you're a ninja, always think about yourself first… in our world, those who are honorable and noble… die first…" and with that he headed towards the door with Nibai and Saboten close behind.

"_Those two will always cause trouble…_" Kugutsu sighed as he glanced after the blonde sand-nin and then towards his redhead teammate: "We should rest a bit… I don't suppose the next test will be even half as easy as this one…"

"Yeah, yeah…" was Chisoku's only response as he headed to the door and once he got close to Dajaku, he threw the leaf-nin a short glance. As their eyes met, the blonde felt shivers running down his spine. Once the trio of Suna shinobi walked pass him, he let out the air that he collected, even though he couldn't tell when he gathered it in his lungs.

"Scary, aren't they?" asked Tenten as she stared after the two Suna teams. Dajaku merely nodded. He felt his mouth got dry. He couldn't point a finger, but there was something about those sand-nins that disturbed him. Especially the blonde one with the gourd and the redhead.

"As an examiner, I shouldn't give advice to the participants, I will tell you this however…" announced the weapon mistress as she glanced at the young gennin. "Those guys aren't your everyday newbies… I can't betray any information about them to you, but I can tell you that they're dangerous… if you'll end up facing either of the two, I suggest surrendering immediately…" and with that she walked her own way.

Dajaku only narrowed his eyes as he looked into the hallway where both Sand teams disappeared to. A single drop of sweat run down his face as the images of Kai and Chisoku appeared in his head: "_Those two… their chakra… it's not human…_"

---That time, back in the Forest of Death---

"Mist-nins…" Jun whispered to his teammates as they observed a trio of ninja slightly older then themselves from the tree tops. "Too bad we have no idea which scroll they have… but with the little time we have to finish the exam, I suppose this fight is our only chance…"

The other two nodded and glance at the cell that was about to become their opponents. The boy, who seemed like a leader of the group, had spiky, black hair and red eyes. His face was covered by the red, shinobi mask and he was wearing a black t-shirt with a red vest on it and black, baggy pants. His right hand was wrapped in bandages and he had his hitae-ate with the mist symbol on his forehead.

The only female in the team had long, blonde hair, clipped in a ponytail and hazel eyes. She wore a violet jumpsuit that exposed her navel and had a big, black dragon painted on its back. Her pants were in the same color as her top and a little baggy. Her headband was also located on her forehead.

The last of the three, a boy with medium-length, brown hair made into dreadlocks, had blue eyes. He was wearing a white vest on his shirtless torso and had both his hands wrapped in bandages. His pants were white and baggy, just like his other, two companions. His forehead protector was used as a belt.

"Okay, I'll trap them in my genjutsu…" Ayame purposed quietly. "Once they'll get confused, we'll attack them and take the scroll… if everything goes well, we'll get the scroll and lose those guys before they'll even realize what hit them…"

"Sorry…" the masked boy announced as he turned towards his teammates. "But it doesn't seem like we can allow them to follow us anymore…" and with that he suddenly disappeared, only to flash before Urusai's eyes in the next moment.

The blonde only managed to form a block in the way of the mist-nin's leg as the hit connected and send the loud mouth back. The Leaf shinobi flipped in mid-air and landed safely on the ground, only to have the shirtless ninja charge at him.

Meanwhile Jun acted immediately and launched a spin-kick, aimed into the masked boy's face, yet the Kiri ninja managed to duck under it and threw a spin-kick of his own. In an instant the leaf-nin blocked the assault with his hand and using that moment, he grabbed his opponent by the ankle.

With a quick motion Jun jumped into the air, somersaulting and taking the mist-nin with him as his grip on his opponent's leg tightened. Suddenly the young Leaf shinobi tossed the Kiri cell leader downward in hope that he'll crash against a tree, but to his surprise the masked boy instantly pulled out a chain with a scythe blade at its end and used it to grab onto a nearby tree.

In a flash the mist-nin swung on the chain and came right at Jun, who was still in mid-air. As the Kiri ninja aimed both his feet at his opponent's head, the Leaf shinobi suddenly flipped, thus avoiding the assault and delivered his elbow into the masked boy's face, thus sending him flying towards the ground.

The Kiri cell leader manage to land safely on his feet however and glanced out front to see Jun landing few meters away from him on the ground as well. In a flash Ayame appeared next to her teammate, while the Mist kunoichi joined the masked boy.

At that moment the shirtless mist-nin delivered a powerful punch in Urusai's face and jumped back to join his companions. The blonde wiped the blood that came from his lower lip and with a wide smirk, he only glanced at the Mist trio: "Sneak attack is out of the question now… but it doesn't matter, I prefer open fight anyway…"

"Sorry then…" replied the masked boy as he performed a quick set of hands seals. "But you won't get your way… Kirigakure no Jutsu!" and suddenly thick mist covered the entire area.

**_---mist covers the battlefield… carrying their own, misunderstood emotions, they're about to clash---_**

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it.

And now, perhaps for the last time, here's another character profile:

_Name:_ Uchiha Homura

_Name origins:_ as you probably know 'uchiha' means 'fan', which is also her clan's symbol. As for her first name, Homura can be translated as 'blaze' or 'flame'… I believe the reason behind giving her that name is obvious

_Age:_ currently 13 years old

_Birth Date:_ 22nd of June

_Blood Type:_ 0

_Height:_ 142,2 cm

_Weight:_ 48,7 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ ninjutsu with the use of taijutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Nara Shikamaru; her teammates are Akimichi Choumura and Hyuuga Isseki

_Family:_ her father is Uchiha Sasuke, one of the strongest ninja in Konoha. Her mother is Sakura, who's thought to be the best medic-nin the Leaf has ever produced. She also has three, younger siblings: Gouka, Enkou and Naraku

_Bloodline limit:_ Sharingan

_Techniques:_ Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Skill, but in some translations, the name "Blaze of Glory" was used in stead)

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

And this is really the end. If you wanna know what happens next, review.

Cya.


	36. Battle in the Mist

Well, I must admit that I'm still slightly disappointed by the number of reviews for last time, but I've decided to at least upload this chapter. However, just like before, if the number of reviews won't be satisfactory I won't update, so IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: REVIEW!

Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. It means a lot. I'm glad you like 'title page' ideas and 'character profiles' (though those were basically Shang's ideas and I only asked him to allow me to use them). And for all of you who think the only strong shinobi are guys… well, I assure you that girls will show they can hold their own.

Now, without further to do, here's another (maybe the last) chapter of "Naruto: Beyond":

**Chapter #36: Battle in the Mist**

**_Title Page:_** the page is split in three parts by straight lines: in the middle there's Urusai, showing a victory sign, to the left is Jun, propping his back against the column that separates the page and to Urusai's right Ayame is standing, dressed in a kimono and is hiding her face behind a fan

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" the masked boy called out and instantly the entire area around them got covered with thick mist. Urusai narrowed his eyes in hope to see better, yet that didn't had the effect he desired.

In a flash he heard a weird noise and hit the dirt, In the next instant the scythe chain flew right above him and if he wouldn't dodge, his head would be chopped off by now. "Nice reflex…" came the masked boy's voice, yet the blonde couldn't tell the direction it came from.

"Show yourself, dammit!" demanded Urusai annoyed. "Fighting like that is cowards way!" but the only thing that replied him was the mist-nins laughter. After a short moment, the one to response to his words was the masked boy: "You must be a rookie… don't you understand anything? We're shinobi… survival is the thing that counts the most in our world… things like honor and fair play do not exist in our dictionary… to skip the fact that Kirigakure no Jutsu is our typical technique…"

"_Damn, this is bad…_" Ayame thought to herself as she looked around. "_Those voices echo in the area, so it's impossible to tell the direction they're coming from… but with such thick mist, those Kiri ninja should have problems in finding us as well if we'll move…_" and with that she ran to her left, only to have the Mist kunoichi appear out of nowhere, right next to her.

"Going somewhere?" she asked with a smirk as she landed a powerful kick into Kakashi's daughter face, thus sending her flying back where she stood just a second ago. Jun only glanced at his female teammate and without wasting a second, he performed a quick set of hand seals.

"Katon: Ryuu Kisoku no Jutsu!" and in a flash a huge fireball left his mouth in the direction Ayame flew from. As the flames burnt the young genius narrowed his eyes. "_She got away…_" he realized as he threw glances around himself. Suddenly shuriken came from every direction at him and his teammates. "_This is bad!_" he thought to himself as he performed a quick set of hand seals.

"Katon: Kasai Nankan!" he called out with the last symbol and instantly a dome made of flames wrapped around him and his teammates, somehow blocking all the incoming, shinobi stars.

"Those brats are sure annoying, aren't they Kaiyou-kun?" the Mist kunoichi asked her masked companion with a smirk appearing on her face. The boy only nodded slightly as a smirk appeared behind his mask as well.

"Indeed they are…" he announced as he began a set of hand seals. "But thanks to that we might have some fun while getting their scroll…" and with that his symbol chain was done: "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

In an instant a powerful dragon made of circling water arose from behind the three mist-nins and charged straight towards the Leaf shinobi, who were still hidden behind Jun's fire barrier. "_Water Dragon Blast?!_" young genius eyes widen in surprise as he saw the incoming assault. "_But isn't that technique impossible to perform without a nearby water source?_" and with that thought he turned towards hi teammates: "Ayame, Urusai, dodge!' and in a flash all three jumped in different directions, thus avoiding the attack, but just barely.

As water drops hit Urusai's face, the blonde realized that he was not safe yet as the masked by, Kaiyou, suddenly appeared above him, aiming to punch him in the top of his head. Instinctually the loud mouth jumped back, making the mist-nin's fist crush into the ground, but in the next fraction of a second his opponent shoot his scythe-ended chain at him and being in mid-air the blonde found it impossible to dodge.

As the blade rip his left shoulder, Urusai let out a yell of pain, before he reached out to his hostel and unleashed several shuriken straight at the Kiri cell leader. Kaiyou only pulled his chain back and by spinning it before himself, he deflected all the shinobi stars that came at him.

Meanwhile Jun was still in mid-air after jumping back to avoid the Dragon Blast, when the shirtless mist-nin suddenly appeared behind him also aiming to unleash a storm of punches on the young genius. But surprisingly for the Kiri ninja, the Leaf shinobi grabbed the ground with his right hand and breaking his flight, he spun on his hand, landing a powerful spin-kick on his opponent's face, thus sending him flying.

As the shirtless boy's back crushed against a tree, Jun was already there, finishing his set of hand seals: "Hijutsu: Kasai no Yaiba!" and as he called out, a sword made of flames formed in his hand. Before the mist-nin could react in anyway, his right side got pierced by the blazing blade.

He let out a yell of pain as fire burnt his skin and made his blood boil. The moment Jun made his blade burn out, the mist-nin collapse to the ground motionless. "_I missed the vital organs purposely… he should live, though he won't bother us anymore… I need to find Ayame and the dope…_" and with that thought he disappeared in the mist.

At that time Ayame was forced back while dodging and blocking the female mist-nin's taijutsu attacks. "_I can barely keep up…_" the masked girl thought to herself as she blocked another incoming punch, yet failed to avoid the kick to her stomach that came right afterwards.

The Leaf kunoichi came to a sliding stop few meters away, only to see her opponent jumping straight at her and spinning in mid-air, she launched a spin-kick aimed at Kakashi's daughter's face. The masked girl managed to bend over in time however, making the assault go right above her head and in a flash picked out a kunai from her hostel.

In an instant she swung her knife at her opponent, but the Kiri kunoichi managed to spun around, thus avoiding the attack and landed an elbow into the back of Ayame's head. As the masked girl bended over due to the impact, she propped her hands against the ground and used them to bounce off, disappearing in the mist.

The Kiri shinobi looked around, trying to make out where her opponent was. "This mist effects your eyes as well, it'd seem…" she heard Ayame's voice, coming from the unknown direction. "Have you ever wondered why 'using your opponent's strength' is one of the basic skills of a ninja? It seems that I'll have to show why…"

And the moment she said so, the Kiri kunoichi began throwing senbon in every direction in hope to hit her opponent. As she ran out of needles, her eyes narrowed while she scanned her surroundings. Just then she noticed a figure in the mist. Without thinking, she charged straight at it, grabbing her kunai.

As she came at the figure with an incredible speed, the masked girl only managed to widen her eyes before the kunai cut her throat. But to the Mist kunoichi's surprise, the knife went right through her opponent, without causing her any harm. "_Bushin no Jutsu!_" she realized immediately and only then noticed an explosive tag laying on the ground.

As the tag exploded, the Kiri ninja was send flying back and while she was still in mid-air Ayame came right at her, landing a powerful blow into her face. With that the mist-nin flew straight down to the ground and crushing hard into it, she lost consciousness.

As Ayame landed on her feet, she picked out another kunai and spun around, aiming to cut the figure that suddenly appeared behind her. The mysterious figure however managed to grab her hand before the knife reached its destination and only then did the masked girl realized that the figure was Jun.

"Oh, it's you…" Ayame said unconcerned as if she didn't just tried to kill him. "Where's Urusai?" she then asked, realizing that the young genius was alone.

"No idea…" replied Jun, sweat dropping slightly. "But we should find him… although we defeated those low-level guys… that masked one with a chain… is more dangerous then both of them put together… if Urusai is the one fighting him, then he might be in big trouble…"

Meanwhile Urusai's body got cut in several places by tens of senbon which came at him from every direction. As he clenched his teeth in pain, he narrowed his eyes, looking for his opponent, yet due to the mist surrounding him, he wasn't able to tell where he was.

"That's it?" he heard Kaiyou's voice, echoing in the mist. "You busted so much about how you were going to kick my ass… it just doesn't feel right for me to defeat you this easily…"

"Shut up!" the blonde shoot back angrily. "I'll kick your ass… I just need a moment to figure out the way to locate you! Once that's done, your ass is grass!" and with that he looked around while the Kiri shinobi laughed loudly: "This is your problem, brat… you're not a real ninja… once your sense of sight is taken away, you're as helpless as a child!"

"_Dammit, he's right…_" Urusai cursed in his mind as he kept looking around. "_I can't see a thing in this mist… how do I fight someone I can't see?_" and just then he heard another sound echoing in the mist and dropped flat on the ground as Kaiyou's scythe chain flew right above him, missing chopping of his head.

Before he even managed to get up, several senbon dug into his back, making him clench his teeth again, to hold back another yell of pain. "_I can't go on like this…_" he thought to himself as he got up. "_Sooner or later he'll finish me off… I need to find a way to locate him… now!_"

Just then the scythe blade down on him, making the blonde jump back, in order to avoid it. As the weapon sunk into the ground, more senbon hit his back, making him lose balance and fall to the ground. He slowly got back to his feet, shaking slightly.

"Why do you get up?" asked Kaiyou's voice calmly from the mist. "You can't see me and you can't do a thing to me… keep doing so and I'll be forced to kill you…"

"I won't give up!" announced Urusai with determination in his voice. "And I refuse to die until I become Hokage! And it wouldn't look good for the future Hokage to lose to a guy like you!" and with that he pulled out his kunai.

"You won't get defeated but a guy like me?" asked Kaiyou, slightly annoyed as he bite his finger and wrote a quick symbol on the scroll, making a katana appear in his hand. "I suppose I don't have any choice then… here and now… I'll end your life!" and with that he jumped straight towards the blonde, who had his back turned towards him, aiming to chop his head off.

_**---killer intensions come onto the surface… what will become of Urusai?---**_

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review once you're done. It'd help this fic survive.

Basically all the techniques used in this chapter are either from the manga itself or were used before, so the only thing left to do is to put on another character profile:

_Name:_ Fuujiru Dajaku

_Name origins:_ his first name can be translated as 'weak', but why I choose the name like that you'll only find out later in the story. When it comes to his clan's name, 'fuujiru' means 'to seal' which has a little to do with his bloodline limit… but it also comes close to the word 'fuujirushi' which means 'poor result' and is suppose to underline his first name

_Age:_ currently 14 years old

_Birth Date:_ 30th of October

_Blood Type:_ 0

_Height:_ 150,2 cm

_Weight:_ 51,7 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ ninjutsu with the use of taijutsu and weapons

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Uchiha Sasuke; his teammates are Reijuushi Kyoudai and Inuzuka Hige

_Family:_ his father is one of the most respected members of the ANBU and his two brothers are thought to be the top of Konoha jounin with the highest chances of becoming ANBU as well. His mother never received any, shinobi training

_Bloodline limit:_ there are rumors about his clan's bloodline limit, however very little information about is given away to people outside his clan, including other, leaf-nins

_Techniques:_ none

_First appearance:_ 24th chapter

And that's that. Thanks for reading and now, before I go, I just wanted to wish you all MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cya!


	37. Which Scroll?

Well, it's been over three months since the last update. As you may have figured out, last time I've decided to put this fic on hold, due to the lack of popularity. I've managed to dig up a bit more free time lately, so I've decided I can give this fic one, last chance. And thus: here I am updating.

However, be aware that if the number of reviews won't be satisfying, this time this fic will be discontinued. With that in mind, I'm inviting you to read the newest chapter of "Naruto: Beyond":

**Chapter #37: Which Scroll?**

**_Title Page:_** Urusai and Jun are standing on two tree tops that rise high above other tree in the surrounding forest

"I suppose I don't have any choice then… here and now… I'll end your life!" and with that Kaiyou jumped straight towards Urusai, who had his back turned towards him, as he prepared his katana.

The blonde felt what was coming, but still couldn't do a thing to prevent it. "_Dammit, where's he coming from? Where the hell is he?_" Urusai thought to himself as he closed his eyes in hope that'll allow him to concentrate on his hearing sense. But in stead of hearing Kaiyou's movement, he heard a soft voice. A voice he has never heard before: "**_Behind you, Urusai…_**"

And having no time to be surprised, the blonde spun on his foot and launched a kick blindly only to have his eyes widen the next moment as he realized he managed to deliver a kick straight into Kaiyou's stomach and thus send the mist-nin flying back, disappearing in the mist again.

"_I got him?_" Urusai asked himself, completely confused. "_And that voice just now… what was it… my imagination? I'm positive I've never heard it before… and yet, it somehow seemed… familiar… what the hell is going on here?_"

"**_Do not worry…_**" the soft voice echoed in his head once again and for some reason, Urusai found this sound… calming. And only now did the blonde realized that the voice he was hearing, belonged to a female: "**_I wish to help you… you may not be able to locate your enemy, but I know exactly where he is… I'll guide you… all you have to do, is trust me…_**"

"_Trust you?_" repeated Urusai, completely confused. "_I don't even know from where your voice is coming from, left alone who it belongs too… I just, all of a sudden, began hearing things in my head! What the hell's going on?_"

"**_I'm sorry, Urusai, but now's not the time for answers…_**" announced the voice, still as soft as it was. "**_I can feel the seal is still keeping me in prison… in just few moments I'll be silenced down once again and you'll be left on your own… if you want to defeat your opponent, you must do what I ask you to…_**"

"Dammit…" Urusai cursed, this time out loud, as the voice gave him another warning. The blonde acted immediately and strafe to his right, thus avoiding the blade of the katana that suddenly shoot out from the mist in the attempt to chop his hand off.

In a flash Urusai picked out a kunai and jumped towards the place his opponent stood, aiming to pierce through his shoulder with the knife he held in his hand. Acting on instinct Kaiyou used his katana to block the attack. As the tip of the kunai clashed against the flat side of the sword, the mist-nin spun on his foot, thus blasting the blonde's hand, that held the knife, back.

As his arm flew behind his back, Urusai saw that his opponent kept spinning and realized what was coming. The second Kaiyou made a full spin, he launched an attack, aimed to cut the leaf-nin in half. Having no, other option, the blonde jumped back, just barely avoiding the attack, cut still got his torso cut shallowly.

As his opponent disappeared in the mist, Kaiyou reached to his hostel and picked out several shuriken, which he held between his finger in his free hand, while his grip on the katana tightened on the other. The Kiri shinobi narrowed his eyes and the moment he saw movement in the fog, he unleashed some of his shinobi stars at the moving target, missing to hit it. A second later he heard a noise coming from his back and while turning around, he threw few more of the shuriken, yet failed to get rid of his opponent once again.

"Interesting…" came Urusai's voice that echoed in the mist. "It seems this whole white stuff effects your sense of sight as well… do you know, I always sucked at paper tests… I never got the memory for the rules or solving complicated problems… but there was one thing that I've always remember… one of the basic rules of shinobi… use your opponent's strength against him…"

"You little shit…" was the only thing Kaiyou said. "I was able to locate you perfectly all this time, what ever gave you the idea I won't manage that now? Mist-nins are trained to move in the mist… we can locate our enemies without seeing them… you can't escape me…"

"Maybe I can't…" came Urusai's voice. "Or maybe I can!" and with those words he came charging at Kaiyou, but at the same time another blonde appeared on the other side, also ready to attack.

The mist-nin merely narrowed his eyes as he spun on his foot and throwing the last of his shuriken at one Urusai and cut the other with his katana. But to his surprise, both of the blondes disappeared in the cloud of white smoke. In the next moment he saw another leaf-nin who as well looked the same as his opponent coming down on him with a kunai in his hand.

Acting on instinct, Kaiyou deflected the attack with his sword, throwing the blonde's hand away and piercing right through his chest. This Urusai however, turned out to be a clone as well. "_You can't use kage bushin all the time… sooner or later you'll run out of chakra…_" the mist-nin concluded in his mind with a tiny smirk appearing behind his mask. "_And I won't allow you to get me before that happens…_"

Another two Urusai came from the mist, charging straight at him, both with kunai in their hands. And both soon got cut by Kaiyou before disappearing in the cloud of white smoke: "How long do you plan on dragging this?" asked the mist-nin. "There's no way those lousy bushins of yours will be able to even lay a finger on me!"

"Says you!' yelled another Urusai, who came charging at him from the mist, only to get cut by Kaiyou's katana as well. But the moment when the mist-nin took the position after performing the cut, hands shoot from bellow him and grabbed him by the ankles. "Time for you to hit the dirt! Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu!" and instantly Kaiyou found his body dug into the ground with only his head above the surface.

"To fall for a lame trick like that… I got careless…" complained the mist-nin as he glanced at Urusai, who now stood right above him. "But don't think this is over…"

"Actually…" replied the blonde with an evil smile. "It is…" and at the very same moment he jumped back. Kaiyou's eyes didn't even managed to widen in surprise as something exploded underground and threw him out. The swordsman crash hard against a nearby tree and lost consciousness instantly. "Explosive tags…" announced Urusai calmly. "Cheap trick, but sometimes those work as well…"

"**_Good job, Urusai-kun…_**" the blonde heard the woman's soft voice again, echoing in his head. "**_I knew you could do it…_**"

"_Well, not without your help…_" Urusai replied in his head with a wide smile as the mist slowly began to fade away. "_Thanks for that, but I still don't know who you are nor do I even know your name…_"

"**_It's Aiko, if you must know…_**" announced the voice softly, only this time with a slight tone of sadness. "**_And when it comes to who I am… I'm afraid that answer will have to wait… the seal reacted again… I cannot stay in contact with you any longer…_**"

"_But…_" was all the blonde could say as he felt the voice fading away, just like the mist around him was.

"**_Don't worry, Urusai-kun…_**" said Aiko a little happier then just a moment ago. "**_I must go now, but I have faith in you… become stronger and someday we should be able to talk once more… and remember: no matter what'll happen, I'll always watch over you…_**" and with that the voice disappeared, just like it was never there.

"Urusai, are you okay?" asked Ayame as he ran towards the blonde with Jun slowly walking behind her. Now that the mist was gone, they all could clearly see each other. The young Kodawari only smiled widely as he held out his hands:

"Ayame-chan, were you worried about me?" he asked hopefully, jumping forward in the attempt to hug the girl, yet the kunoichi stopped him halfway by delivering a punch into the blonde's face: "There I was worried about you, numbskull, and in an instant you make me wish that Mist guy could finish you off…"

"S… so cold…" Urusai summed up as he felt to the ground with his left cheek completely red due to Ayame's punch. Then silence felt between the trio, broken by the blonde after a moment: "You guys, I wanna ask you something… just now, did any of you heard… I mean…" but at this point he hesitated and lowered his head.

"Just spit it out…" said Jun in an ordering tone as he searched Kaiyou for the scroll. The blonde kept his head lowered, avoiding eye-contact with his teammates: "_If I'll tell them I heard a voice, they'll just send me to nuttville… but that voice just then… who was it? And why do I have the feeling that I should know it?_"

"Well, what was it?" Jun encouraged his companion, making Urusai glance at him and with a fake smile, the blonde only replied: "It's nothing really… just a crazy thought… pretend I did say anything…"

"I always do that…" the young genius shoot back, making a vein pulse on Urusai's forehead, but before the blonde could react to his teammate's comment, Jun already stood up and turning around shown his companions what he have found: "Earth scroll… looks like we're home free…"

"Great, so lets just take it and get out of this freakin forest!" announced Ayame annoyed. "I have enough of this place for the rest of my life!" and without waiting for her teammate's reaction, she just disappeared in the tree tops. The two boys only exchanged glanced and then, without a word, they just followed the kunoichi towards the tower.

---That time, elsewhere---

"_This sensation just now…_" the hooded figure thought to himself as a tiny smirk crept onto his face. "_Could this have been the work of Uragiri-sama's seal? But I thought it could only be broken by performing a special ritual… that's why Uragiri-sama did it in the first place… things are certainly starting to develop in an interesting way…_" and just then he realized someone standing on top of a nearby building.

As he glanced up, he realized it was a man wearing a grey outfit with wide sleeves and dark blue pants. The hooded man didn't saw any hitae-ate, yet the red and white, tiger mask that the man wore on his face made it clear that he was an ANBU from the Hidden Leaf.

"_So suspicious…_" the hooded man smiled to himself, acting like he didn't made anything of the masked figure. "_He's not even trying to hid his presence from me… should I feel offended or honored? Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter… the second exam will soon finish and after that very little can be done… I just hope Kigahen knows what to do…_" and with that thought he walked on with the ANBU member eyes still settled on him.

A second later another ANBU appeared next to the first one. This one was wearing a black jumpsuit and a green vest on that. He had a tiger mask covering his face as well and after throwing a quick glance in the direction the hooded man disappeared to, he looked at his companion: "So, what do you think, Neji-san? Were our fears correct?"

"Hard to say…" replied the other ANBU, Neji. "We've been observing all the jounin that came to Konoha along with gennin teams, but none did anything suspicious yet… perhaps we're all just overreacting… what do you think, Gai-sensei?"

"That may be so…" responded the older ANBU, Gai. "However our patrols that came back from missions outside the Fire Country's boulders report of mysterious figures walking around the villages near Konoha… at this time the last thing we need is to get careless…"

"So I heard…"

"Stay on your guard, Neji…" Gai advised his companion. "And lets hope nothing will happen… but if it will… Konoha may be in grave danger… maybe even greater then time you took the exam for the first time… or maybe even greater then the treat from thirteen years ago…" and with that he was gone, leaving the younger ANBU alone.

_**---plots and secrets all over… the exams continue---**_

And that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll review, otherwise this fic is gone. Also, for old times sake, I've decided to put up another, character profile. If I recall correctly, it's Lee's team turn, so I choose Kei:

_Name:_ Sakudo Kei

_Name origins:_ his first name, Kei, has many meanings, but when I was choosing his name, I found it as 'strong'. Considering he's a taijutsu expert, I figured it'd fit perfectly. As for his clan's name, 'sakudo' itself means 'surface soil'

_Age:_ currently 14 years old

_Birth Date:_ 15th of July

_Blood Type:_ B

_Height:_ 151,8 cm

_Weight:_ 53,1 kg

_Favored style of fighting:_ taijutsu

_Current rank:_ gennin

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Team:_ cell led by Rock Lee; his teammates are Naifu Ibuki and Mekko Gaki

_Family:_ he's the first member of his family that became a ninja

_Bloodline limit:_ none

_Techniques:_ none

_First appearance:_ 25th chapter

And that's it! Cya.


	38. At the Tower

And again, this time against myself really, I've decided to throw another chapter of this fic (yeah, I suppose you guys have Shang to thank for that). After almost three months I figured I could give this another shoot, but just like before: unless the number of reviews will be satisfying, this fic will get dropped… again.

To answer questions about Aiko: she's not a tailed beast to start off. The case of her being inside Urusai is actually way more complicated then that, but I do not intend to give away anything out yet, since it's something that will be explained later on in the story.

And so here's the next chappie of "Naruto: Beyond":

**Chapter #38: At the Tower**

_**Title Page:**_ Ayame is sleeping in her bed with her mask laying on a night shelf next to her, yet her face is covered with the sheet

Sasuke landed on the ground without making a noise, wanting to make the woman who was watering the flowers in the garden a surprise. To his dismal however, she sensed him perfectly and without even turning around, she greeted him: "Welcome home, Sasuke-kun…"

The Sharingan user only let out a sigh. Even though many thought that she wasn't the greatest kunoichi of the Leaf, it was almost impossible to surprise his wife: "Hey Sakura-chan…" he replied with a smile. "I see you really took taking care of the garden seriously… or is it just that Ino said she'll win that 'best garden contest' next week that you're trying so hard?"

"It's neither…" responded the woman and then turn around, revealing that she had jade green eyes and long, pink hair that felt freely on her back. She wore a red, sleeveless outfit and black leg guards along with fingerless, black gloves on her hands. Her hitae-ate with the symbol of the Leaf was located on top of her head. "The thing is…"

"You're worried about Homura…" Sasuke finished for her with his smile disappearing from his face. The woman only nodded slightly after a moment. The Sharingan user walked closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. As she looked up, he kissed her on the forehead and smiling once more, he announced: "You shouldn't worry… I've just talked with Tenten… Shikamaru's team already made it to the tower safely…"

At hearing that Sakura let out a sigh of relief: "That's good to hear… after what happened to us in that forest… I certainly wouldn't want Homura to have similar experience to ours…" but as she said so, a loud 'mom' was heard.

As the two adults looked in the direction the yell came from, they saw a young girl with medium-length, pink hair and black eyes running towards them. She was wearing a violet jumpsuit with black stripes going down its sleeves and trouser legs. There was a large red and white fan painted on its back and she had both her hands wrapped in bandages.

Right behind her run a boy about a year older then her with gelled-up, black hair and green eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and short, white pants. Just like the girl, he had a large fan painted on his back and had a red neckerchief. He carried a fluffed, orange tiger in his hand.

The last to arrive was a boy who was strangely similar to the one with the neckerchief. His eyes were also green and his hair was raven-black, only longer and clipped in a ponytail. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and short, white pants. Also he had a large fan painted on the back, but in his case, the same symbol was visible on both sleeves on his shirt.

"Mom!" the girl yelled as she dug into Sakura's arms. "Naraku stole Toramu and he tried to hit me with it!" he announced while she pointed at the boy with the neckerchief. The woman only rubbed her head slightly before she glanced at Sasuke.

The man only let out a sigh and walked towards the two boys. "Sorry dad…" began the one with the ponytail. "I tried to stop him, but Naraku just wouldn't listen and then Gouka started screaming and then…" but at this point the boy got interrupted by the jounin:

"Yes, I know Enkou… Naraku likes bad jokes…" and with that he turned towards the one with the fluffed tiger in his hand: "Give your sister her mascot back, Naraku…" and as the boy began with the 'but', the older man narrowed his eyes, making him lower his head and hand back the girl her toy.

Sasuke let out another sigh and with a tiny smile appearing on his face, he turned towards the two boys again: "You know, guys I have a little free time now… what'd you say if we would go and train a little? I'm anxious to see how much you've learned since last week…"

"Yay!' the twins cheered as they ran back into the house to get their shinobi stars. The young girl, Gouka, only sobbed quietly as she looked at her father. He smiled towards her and with that he placed his hand on her head: "Naraku shouldn't bother you for some time, but if he will, just let me know and we'll pull some prank on him, okay?"

The girl only nodded as a tiny smirk appeared on her face. At that time the two boys returned and the three male headed to the nearby forest. As they went on their way, Sasuke only smirked: "_Having your own subordinates is tuff… but having your own kids is even harder…_" he thought to himself as he glanced in the direction of a tower that was located in the middle of the famous Forest of Death.

---That time in the tower---

"Finally we made it…" announced Renge with her hands behind her head as she walked down the hallway with her teammates. "If it wasn't for those rain-nins that thought they'll manage to take our scrolls, we'd get here sooner… the nerve of those guys… and who was that Kasano guy they talked about anyway?"

"Beats me…" replied Irakusa shrugging. "Most likely he was also the participant of the exams, but I never saw the guy… you think he's any good?" but the kunoichi only stared at the ceiling as he asked.

After a moment of thought, Renge responded: "Dunno, but it'd be interesting to run into him… I wanna check if he's really as good as those guys said he was… what do you think, Kamoku-kun?" and with that she glanced at her other companion, only to see that he was looking straight in front. As she followed his sight, he noticed a certain, blonde mist-nin standing in the hallway, propping against the wall with his arms crossed.

The moment the three grass-nins came closer, he bounced off the wall and walked right towards the Kusa cell leader. As he bended over slightly to look into Kamoku's eyes, a tiny smirk appeared on his face as he asked: "You're Hongen Kamoku, ain't ya?"

"Perhaps…" the other boy replied simply with his eyes narrowed. "But you should introduce yourself before asking someone his name…" the blonde only smiled wider and with a short chuckle, he responded: "The name's Kigahen… my last name is not important…"

"When people say that…" Irakusa cut in calmly. "It often means that it's exactly the other way around…" and with that the blonde glanced at him, still smiling. After a short while he looked back at Kamoku and with his smile disappearing, he announced: "Tell me something… did you had a brother?"

At those words Kamoku's eyes narrowed even more. Anger began building up in him, yet he did his best not to show it. Realizing this, Renge stepped in between the two quickly and without even looking at her teammate, she asked: "Why are you so interested in Kamoku-kun?"

"No, real reason…" came a response. "It's just that I knew someone, who looked incredibly similar to you… he once told me about his brother and you match that description perfectly… so I was just curious…"

"My clan is of no concern to you…" Kamoku announced with a cold voice. A voice Renge never heard him talk with. "I do not wish to continue this conversation, so do move out of our way so that we could reach our destination… the next exam will start in a short while and we wish to rest before that…"

"Naturally…" replied Kigahen with a smirk as he bowed slightly and stepped aside, allowing the grass-nins to walk pass him. But as Kamoku was passing by, he said quietly, yet loud enough for all the Kusa gennin to hear: "However it's regrettable that you decided to betray your father like this…"

Kamoku suddenly stopped as his eyes narrowed. Without looking at the blonde, he replied with an emotionless voice, which made Kigahen's smirk widen: "The man you're speaking off… he is not my father… and I'll never treat him as one… and that brother you mentioned… we were never family in the first place. Everything that happened to me… they're the ones to blame…" and with that he walked on.

Kigahen only smiled as he glanced after the Grass trio. A moment later he headed his own way, still smiling: "_Hongen Kamoku… the renegade… most interesting. I never thought that I'll meet him in a place like this… he's not part of the mission… but then, I can still sacrifice some of my time to play with him for a bit…_" and with that thought he disappeared around the corner.

---That time, elsewhere---

"There's the tower!" yelled Urusai happily as he landed on another tree branch. "We're home free!" but at this point Ayame smacked him in the back of his head:

"Quiet down, will ya?" she asked annoyed. "We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves, especially now! There might be traps set around this place and since there's so little time till the end of the exam, teams that don't have all the scrolls will try anything to get a complete… if you don't want to get attacked, shut up!"

The trio landed near the entrance to the tower. "This is it…" announced Jun simply as he pushed the door open and the three walked inside. As they went pass the doors, those shut close, imprisoning them inside.

The young gennin weren't moved by that at all however. Their eyes only widen as they realize what awaited them inside the tower, their finish line.

_**---the second exam is at its end… the real challenge begins now!---**_

And that's that. Maybe for now (if the number of reviews will be high enough) or maybe for longer (if it won't be high enough). Basically it's up to you. I do hope those of you, who decided to read it, enjoyed this chapter.

And now, before finishing this, I'll follow Shang's example and give you the full list of the more important gennin (and that I'm too lazy to do the character profile this time):

**Konoha (Uzumaki Naruto):** Hanayaka Jun, Hatake Ayame, Kodawari Urusai

**Konoha (Hyuuga Hinata):** Aburame Kumo, Emimaru Hinako, Hashira Hisaki

**Konoha (Nara Shikamaru):** Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki, Uchiha Homura

**Konoha (Uchiha Sasuke):** Fuujiru Dajaku, Inuzuka Hige, Reijuushi Kyoudai

**Konoha (Rock Lee):** Mekko Gaki, Naifu Ibuki, Sabudo Kei

**Suna (Temari):** Sabaku no Kai, Nibai, Saboten

**Suna (Kankuro):** Chisoku, Hagetaka, Kugutsu

**Kiri (mist-nins):** Ago Fuka, Ketsueki Kenbu, Kodawari Kigahen

**Oto (Yakushi Kabuto):** Kaguya Toge, Tategoto Fushi, Wooku

**Kusa (grass-nins):** Chitagana Renge, Hongen Kamoku, Irakusa

**Ame (rain-nins):** Kasano, Kasumi, Pazu Tso

And that's it… for now maybe. Cya!


	39. Second Exam Ends!

_**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:**_ Basically I wasn't planning to upload this chapter (as the popularity of this fic seems low), but due to some, recent events, I figured this would be my way of helping a friend (as I can't do anything else really). A very good friend of mine, who some of you might know, Shang, has recently find out that his father has cancer. Thus I'm publishing this chapter to ask you all to send your prayers for Shang's dad, asking that he'll be fine.

On a side note I do wanna thank those who did review the previous chapter. I'm posting this one due to the circumstances, but I will continue this story if I get reviews. To put it more simply I WON'T UPDATE UNLESS I GET REVIEWS!

With that said, guess we can go straight to the next chapter of "Naruto: Beyond":

**Chapter #39: The Second Exam Ends!**

_**Title Page:**_ Naruto painted himself in the way it'd look like he activated a cursed seal and right next to him stands Sasuke with his arms crossed, seriously pissed

But as Urusai, Jun and Ayame entered the tower, their eyes widen at noticing that no-one was there. The blonde gennin looked around nervously, hoping that his eyes deceived him. "What the hell is this? Some sort of genjutsu? What are we suppose to do now?"

But as he said so Jun simply walked over to him and hit him in the back of his head: "Start by calming down…" he advised simply. "We're at our destination and I don't suppose this is any type of illusion, so we're either missing something or we just came in too late, but I doubt that last one…"

Ayame on the other hand said nothing. She just kept staring at some sort of note that was attached to the wall. Urusai noticed that and came closer to the kunoichi: "What is it, Ayame-chan?" he asked as he followed her sight.

"That note…" she replied without taking her eyes off the wall. "I'm not sure about it's meaning, but I assume it tells us… that we should open those scrolls…" and with that she turned towards Jun, who now was also looking at the note, standing behind the two.

After a short analysis the young genius only nodded slightly and announced: "Seems like you're right… let's open them up, Urusai…" and with that the blonde merely nodded as well.

The two then stepped to the center of the room and slowly began unwrapping the scrolls they've gathered. But as they proceeded, Jun noticed something: "_Summoning?!_" his eyes widen at the realization before he turned to his teammate: "Urusai, throw it away!" and without waiting he tossed his scroll against a nearby wall.

Soon the blonde followed and white smoke covered the air above the scrolls. The trio went into their fighting stances, noticing that there was a figure in the smoke, but as it cleared, they relaxed slightly, realizing that the one who appeared before them was a chuunin with a scar going across his face.

"I… Iruka-sensei?" stated Urusai totally surprised. "Why are you here?"

"Basically it's already a tradition that a chuunin appears before the examinees at the end of the second test…" replied the man calmly with a warm smile. "It seems that this year I ran into you guys…"

"So this is how it was done…" noticed Jun with a smirk, earning confused glares from his companions. "Think about it: we were forbidden to look into the scrolls before reaching the tower, so if we would fail to do so, you'd show up, Iruka-sensei and expelled us from the exam, right?"

"Pretty much…" nodded the chuunin with a smile.

"Okay, but what now?" demanded Urusai, still pretty confused. "We reached the tower, opened the scrolls and still nothing happened! Did we pass or fail? And what the hell are we suppose to do now anyway?"

"Calm down, I was getting to that…" Iruka assured him with a sweat drop. "I have several messages for you, but I believe the most important one should go first… about the second exam… you just passed it!" and with that his smile widen. Then, several events followed.

Urusai began jumping up and down, cheering as loud as he could, whereas Ayame just collapsed and Jun simply sat on the floor with a tiny smile appearing on his face. They all give the blonde time to run around for awhile, but soon it became boring, so Kakashi's daughter just made her teammate trip over her legs and fall on his face, while she told him to 'finally shut up'.

"Well, I might tell you what you should do now, but before that it's better if I'll give you one, more announcement…" continued the chuunin calmly, yet smiling at the blonde's behavior, which reminded him so much of a very similar event from years ago. "It's an… advice left to all the young chuunin by the Sandaime Hokage…"

"It's that note?" asked Jun out loud. "Basically it has to be here for a reason…"

"Yup…" nodded Iruka, still smiling. "You might say it's a motto of all the chuunin. Read it carefully. It says: 'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages'… do you know what that refers too?"

"Heaven and Earth are the names of the scrolls we were suppose to get…" notice Ayame unsure and after that she received a nod from Iruka: "Yes, but that's just the tip of the mountain in this case…"

"So what does it means?" asked Urusai, completely clueless and not interested.

"Well, heaven refers to human mind and earth to his body…" responded the chuunin calmly. "To put it simply, what that note says is that if you lack brains, you should seek knowledge and prepare well for missions… and if your stamina is low, you can't slack off and should train everyday. And once you have both Heaven and Earth you're really prepared to become a chuunin…"

"And what's with the missing word?" asked the blonde, this time a little curious.

"It's an equivalent to the word chuunin…" replied the scar-faced man. "The same one as you saw on the scrolls… it's person… remember that chuunin is the rank of group leaders… during missions it's his responsibility to guide the team, thus he must be well prepared to complete missions and assure his subordinates safety…"

"_Weather his subordinates live or die… depends just on him…_" concluded Urusai in his mind as his fists clenched. Iruka only looked around the trio and then announced: "And that's all the messages I had for you…"

"Gotcha, Iruka-sensei!" replied the blonde loudly and smiled. But the chuunin still looked worried and after a short silence, he added: "There's one more thing I'd like to tell you before you go… an advice from me…"

"Let it rip!" responded Urusai, but that earned him a hit on the back of his head from Ayame, who just yelled 'learn some respect, dammit' as she began crushing her teammate to the floor. Literally.

"It's about the third exam…" continued Iruka, much quieter then earlier. "During it you'll all be on your own… no-one will be watching your back… and with everyone so confident, death might get you before you know it… so don't push it too hard…"

"Don't worry about us, Iruka-sensei!" replied the blonde with a smile. "Maybe we're still brats, but we fought our battles. We might not be the strongest or the smartest, but that doesn't change the fact that we're shinobi!"

The other, two gennin only smiled and nodded at that, making the chuunin smile back: "I see… well then, follow me, coz the details about the third exam should be given to you any minute now…" and with that he walked forward with the three teens close behind.

---That time, elsewhere---

"Come on, we gotta go…" announced Dajaku as he left the room. "Sasuke-sensei said that the next exam is about to begin and if we won't hurry, we'll get disqualified just for not attending!" and with that he turned towards his two teammates, who calmly followed him without rushing at all.

"Chill already…" asked Hige with a wide yawn. Urufudo only bark loudly as he stretched himself and then walked slowly behind its master. "I don't really suppose they're going to start without us… Sasuke-sensei himself was late for his third exam, remember?"

"You're taking it too lightly…" stated the blonde, sweat dropping. Kyoudai only rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed, but then his sight stopped at a team that was just walking down the hallway towards them.

It was a team of mist-nins, consisting of a boy with violet hair, carrying a huge sword on his back, a girl wearing black and most disturbing, a blond with a plaster on his left cheek. As the Kiri cell walked past the Leaf shinobi, Kyoudai's eyes meet the blonde's for a split second. It was in that moment that the dreadlock felt a strange sensation. Looking into those eyes, for some reason, made him scared… a feeling he never had before.

As the Kiri shinobi disappeared behind the corner, Kyoudai glared after them with his eyes narrowed: "_That blonde just now… who the hell was he?_" he thought to himself, completely forgetting about his teammates.

"Kyoudai, are you alright?" Hige suddenly asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The dreadlock glanced at her and after a short moment, he replied as if nothing happened: "I'm okay… it was nothing. Lets just go and get the next exam over with…" and with that he walked confidentially to the meeting spot. Yet as he held out his hand, he noted a single drop of sweat appearing on it.

Dajaku only narrowed his eyes as he glanced after his teammate: "_First those sand-nins and now the Mist… this exam is crowded with dangerous people…_" and with that thought he followed his companions. The third exam was about to take place. Or so he thought.

_**---the second exam ends… what awaits the young ninja?---**_

And that's it for chapter 39. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll review. It's the only way to keep this fic going. And now, just as a reminder, here's the full list of more important gennin, again:

**Konoha (Uzumaki Naruto):** Hanayaka Jun, Hatake Ayame, Kodawari Urusai

**Konoha (Hyuuga Hinata):** Aburame Kumo, Emimaru Hinako, Hashira Hisaki

**Konoha (Nara Shikamaru):** Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki, Uchiha Homura

**Konoha (Uchiha Sasuke):** Fuujiru Dajaku, Inuzuka Hige, Reijuushi Kyoudai

**Konoha (Rock Lee):** Mekko Gaki, Naifu Ibuki, Sakudo Kei

**Suna (Temari):** Sabaku no Kai, Nibai, Saboten

**Suna (Kankuro):** Chisoku, Hagetaka, Kugutsu

**Kiri (mist-nins):** Ago Fuka, Ketsueki Kenbu, Kodawari Kigahen (goes without his last name)

**Oto (Yakushi Kabuto):** Kaguya Toge, Tategoto Fushi, Wooku

**Kusa (grass-nins):** Chitagana Renge, Hongen Kamoku, Irakusa

**Ame (rain-nins):** Kasano, Kasumi, Pazu Tso

Well, this concludes this chappie. Thanks for reading. Cya!


	40. Eliminations Begin!

Well, to be honest I didn't plan on uploading this, but since I've already wrote it down some time ago, I figured I might as well try this one, last time with this fic. I keep on telling myself that I'll drop this fic someday, so if you do want to read more of it, do leave a comment. I WON'T UPDATE UNLESS I GET REVIEWS!

I wanna thank those few people who did review. It's good to know there are still some faithful readers that stick with this story to the end. It really means a lot. Also, under Shang's permission, I've decided to give a special treat to those that are still reading this story:

**FIRST POPULARITY CONTEST OPEN:** ladies and gentlemen, after much consideration, I've decided to open the first (and hopefully the story will go on, so that won't be the last) "Naruto Beyond" Character Popularity Contest! Normally I was planning to make it later, but figured this would be a better time as all the characters get equal chances: the eliminations haven't began yet, so you know about all of them roughly as much. This will also give you the chance to help you favorite character get a bigger part. It won't effect the major parts of the story (meaning if the character was suppose to lose in the eliminations, he'll still lose, regardless to the spot he'll get in the contest), but I'll certainly put more work into developing the more popular characters more and give them more 'screen time'. I want to ask you to please take part in it. The rules will be given at the end of the chapter (please read them before participating).

And now, just one last time I want to ask you: PLEASE REVIEW. And lets get on with it:

**Chapter #40: Eliminations Begin**

_**Title Page:**_ Urusai with screws in his neck is pretending to be Frankenstein's monster

"For starters let me congratulate you all on passing the second exam!' announced Kakashi so that everyone would hear him. "Well done…" They were now in a large hall with platforms all around and a big sculpture of two hands performing a seal. Right in front of chuunin wanabies stood the Sixth Hokage along with their jounin instructors and the two examiners: Ino and Tenten. There was also a guy with spiky, brown hair, red, fang-like tattoos on his cheeks, wearing a blue t-shirt, that most of them never seen before. Right next to him stood a big, white-furred dog.

Ibuki looked around: "_From ninety people only thirty three made it this far? That only makes eleven teams…_"

"Hey, look…" whispered Kugutsu, bending over to his teammates. "The brats made it this far as well" and with that he pointed with his head at the three, Leaf gennin rookie teams standing a little to his left. "Most unexpected…"

"Yeah…" nodded Hagetaka with a smirk as she glanced at the younger shinobi. "But this is where luck won't do if you want to pass… it'll be fun to see them get beat up and carried away. I hope I'll be the lucky one to fight one of them…"

"You two just don't get it…" announced Chisoku, not even looking at the rookies as a tiny smirk appeared on his face while he kept his arms crossed before his chest. "They made it this far, because they're stronger then you think. I suggest you not taking them lightly…"

"Hey, Hige-chan, what is your father doing here?" Dajaku bended over to his teammate to whisper into her ear as his eyes stopped at the man with red tattoos on his cheek. The dog kunoichi shrugged and then replied, a little suspicious as she glanced at the jounin with red markings on his face: "No idea, but so many jounin in one place… this worries me a bit. Wonder what's going on…"

"_Two teams from Suna… one from the Oto, one from the Hidden Mist…_" Gaki began judging their opponents while looking around. All of them seemed rather strong and from many villages too. "_Kusa, Ame… and four, other teams from the Leaf… heh, even Kodumbari made it…_" and at this a wide smirk appeared on his face when his gaze stopped at Urusai and his cell.

"_Damn I'm hungry…_" Choumura whined to himself as he grabbed his stomach, which 'burked' loudly. "_Where's a bag of potato chips when you need one?_" and at this point he zoned out, thinking about food.

"_Cool, Kumo-kun made it here as well…_" Homura smiled as she spotted the young Aburame, whose team was standing right next to hers. The bug user however didn't seem to pay any attention to her, as he whispered, while looking around: "So many…"

"You're not telling me that you're scared, are you?" asked Hisaki jokingly and threw his teammate a smile. Kumo only threw him a quick glance and then got back to his pose, which stated 'I-couldn't-care-less'. The blonde only sighed: "One can't even joke around with you, you know…"

"Hisaki-kun, that was mean!" Hinako made something that could be taken as a mad face, which earned her a surprise glance from the blonde, but the next moment they both smiled widely and returned to observing the jounin standing in front of them.

"Well, well, looks like your brother made it after all, Kigahen-kun…" noticed Fuka smiling.

"Told you we should have finished them off that time…" complained Kenbu with his arms crossed as he threw a quick glare at the three leaf-nins. Kigahen only looked in the direction his younger brother was standing, but said nothing. In the same time other eyes were observing the younger blonde:

"_So, those brats really made it here…_" wondered Kyoudai, smirking. "_Impressive. I may have some fun during this test after all… it'd be fun to finish our little quarrel from before the exams…_" but then his eyes turned towards the other blonde, Kigahen: "_This guy…_"

--X--

"Well, it seems that your brats really know some things…" Sasuke whispered to Naruto with a tiny smirk appearing on his face. "But fear not, as long as my team is there, your subordinates won't get through…"

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing…" replied the blonde jounin calmly, returning the smile before they both returned to watching the young shinobi who stood before them.

"Thirty three people…" sighed Shikamaru. "How troublesome…"

"You don't seem too happy about your team passing the second exam…" announced Temari with a smirk as she gave the lazy jounin a glance and then elbowed him lightly. "What kind of jounin instructor are you?"

"_And there they go… again…_" Kankuro gave his sister a bored look as he let out a sigh, yet couldn't help but smile at the two behavior.

"_Kigahen is here… as well as Urusai… everything is going as planned…_" calculated the hooded man with the mist headband on his left arm. "_Uragiri-sama will be pleased…_"

"Congratulations on your team passing the second exam, Kabuto-san…" began Lee, turning to the Sound jounin. The glasses wearing sound-nin threw him a quick glance and with an expression from which the Green Beast couldn't read anything, he simply replied 'thanks'.

Lee narrowed his eyes at that, before he continued: "But don't think I forgot what the Sound did to Konoha… I'll keep an eye on you… remember that…" and with that he got back to observing his subordinates.

"_Hisaki is acting a little weird…_" thought Hinata as she observed her pupils.

--X--

"_Those mist-nins…_" the Hashira heir thought to himself, looking at Kigahen with a single drop of sweat falling down his face. "_That aura doesn't seem normal…_" Kumo noticed his teammate's behavior, but decided to not react. In stead, he just kept on starring in front of himself.

"_So the brats feel it too?_" wondered Kai as he first looked at the young blonde, then at Urusai's older brother. "_That Kiri shinobi is strong…_" and then his eyes narrowed, yet more as the sign of excitement."_This should be fun…_"

"Seems that that blonde, Leaf brat you saved is here as well…" announced Renge, turning to her teammate, pointing with her head at Urusai and his cell. "Hope you're happy, Kamoku-kun…"

"Yeah…" replied the grass leader, not even looking at the kunoichi. In stead, he was observing the team that stood right next to them "_That blonde from the Mist… who is he? And how in the world did he know…_"

"_It's that guy from before…_" Irakusa concluded as he followed his teammate's sight. "_I wonder what exactly was that thing all about… that guy with a plaster on his face… what strange aura… what could his ability be?_"

"_The elite are still here…_" Isseki thought to himself. "_Hanayaka Jun…_" and with that he looked in the black-haired boy's direction. A tiny smirk appeared on his face as his eyes set on the number one rookie of this year.

"Damn, everyone's here…" whispered Urusai with a smile as he looked around. "Hinako, Hisaki, Isseki, Dajaku and their teams… even those sound-nins…" at that he froze as he noticed another team. "_Even my brother…_"

"Yeah, a complete…" nodded Ayame as she looked around a bit scared. She certainly didn't like the fact that the Mist team made it as well. After seeing what they were capable of, the last she wished to do is to fight them.

"But why are the jounins here as well?" asked the blonde.

"Don't know…" replied Jun calmly. "I have a bad feeling though…"

"Listen up!" yelled Ino annoyed, gaining everyone's attention. "You're going to find out about the rules of the Third Exam now, so shut your yaps and listen!"

"_I'm deffinetly feel sorry for Choumura… he has to put up with that all the time…_" Urusai thought to himself as sweat dropped from his face.

"_She overdoes it a little…_" Tenten sweat dropped as well, yet a tiny smile appeared on her face as she looked at her kunoichi friend..

"Now that we have your attention…" began the Rokudaime, looking at the blonde kunoichi with a sweat still falling from his face. He regained his posture by coughing slightly and then continued: "I'll allow the third examiner to explain the rules of the final test… please, listen carefully…"

At this the man with the dog walked forwards and said: "Yo! My name is Inuzuka Kiba and I'll be the examiner for the third Chuunin Selection Exam. The exam itself will be a one on one fight. The fights will be observed by the lords from allied countries, as well as the possible customers, so I hope those who'll participate will make their village proud… however there's something you all must do before that… that something will be taking part in the eliminations to the third exam…"

"Excuse me, but I'm not sure if I understand…" announced Kei hesitantly as he raised his hand. The instant the jounin glanced at him, he spoke up again: "The participants have already been selected… why the extra test?"

"Well, there's a number of people who are allowed to take the third exam…" explained Kiba patiently. "After all, many important guests will arrive, so we must value their time… and this year… too many of you made it through the first, two tests… the eliminations will be also a one on one fight… and will start this very moment, so if anyone feels like forfeiting or feels that he/she won't manage I suggest doing it now… from now on the fights will be individual, so you can forfeit without the fear for your teammates…" he looked around, but no-one raised their hands.

"_So confident…_" Toge smiled under his nose.

"_This may be interesting…_" Kigahen thought to himself as he looked at his brother.

"Okay then…" continued Kiba after a moment to make sure no-one wanted to quit. "From now on your fate will be decided by whatever will appear on that screen…" at this point he pointed a screen hanging under the roof. "On it will be shown the names of the participants of the next fight… now, without further delays, let's choose the first pair, shall we?"

And as if it was a command, names started to change at an incredible speed on the screen. Everyone observed it closely, awaiting the result. Finally the names stopped changing and the screen showed: **PAZU TSO versus SABOTEN**.

"Looks like you're first…" Nibai turned around to her teammate wearing green.

"Yeah…" nodded Saboten as he slowly walked forward.

A shirtless, bold guy, full of muscles, wearing short, grey pants and carrying a huge, stone pale smiled. He wore his hitae-ate with a rain symbol as a belt. "A sand-nin that wears green… what a loser. It seems I got lucky…"

"Sand-nins are known for their strength…" reminded another rain-nin, this one with spiky, violet hair and blue eyes. He wore a black t-shirt and a violet waistcoat on that, along with a little baggy, grey pants. He wore his headband on his forehead and was carrying two umbrellas on his back "Don't take that guy lightly…"

The last one of the Rain team, a girl with long, red hair, clipped in a ponytail, and eyes in the same color, wearing a blue and white outfit with leg guards, who wore hers headband on her left arm and carrying a sword attached to her back only sighed at her bold teammate's smile.

The two participants came into the center of the ring as Kiba shown the others to take their positions at the platforms around the ring. The gennin followed their jounin instructors up. Each of them settled near the rails: Kyoudai propped his back on it and only glanced over his shoulder at the arena bellow. Hige on the other hand seemed completely uninterested in the fight and just laid down against the wall. The only one from Sasuke's cell, who seemed like he wanted to know what'll happened was Dajaku, who stood near the rail.

Isseki only propped himself against the wall and crossed his arms, yet he settled his eyes on the center of the ring. Choumura laid on his hands, which he placed on the rail, awaiting for the match to begin while Homura only glanced down, not every interested.

Kumo stood near the rail with hands in his pockets and no emotions on his face as Hisaki bended over slightly to prop one of his hands on the rail. A sign of excitation crossed his face while Hinako held her hands before her face, slightly worried.

Both Kei and Ibuki stood straight near the edge, almost as if they were standing on guard. Gaki only smirked at that and placing his left hand on the rail, he glanced down, awaiting for the match to begin.

Toge stood near the rail as well and kept his eyes down, yet from his face you couldn't tell a thing: whether he was excited, scared or just plain bored. Wooku on the other hand settled himself near the wall and closing his eyes he began to shake his head, most likely to the music that sounded in his headphones. Fushi just sighed as she sat down, dropping her legs off the platform.

Renge placed both her palms of the rail as she bended over slightly to see the match better. Kamoku only leaned on his left hand that he placed on the rail as well, yet he didn't seem very interested in the fight. However the one with zero interest was Irakusa, who only crossed his legs and seem to meditate with his eyes closed.

Kigahen merely crossed his arms as he propped his back against the wall. Fuka grabbed the rail with her left hand and bended over slightly with Kenbu standing next to her, with his arms crossed, just like the blonde's. Only the hooded man stood with absolutely no emotions between his students, his face still covered by the shadow of the hood.

Kugutsu settled down near the edge of the platform and placed his scrolls in front of himself, while Hagetaka sat on the rail with a wide smirk appearing on her face. Chisoku merely crossed his arms as his eyes set on Saboten.

Kai seemed completely uninterested in the match, even though his teammate was one of the participants. He just mimicked Chisoku and stood near the rail without paying too much attention to what was going on bellow. Nibai only picked out one of her fans and propped her chin on her hands, which she placed on it, awaiting the fight to begin.

Ayame stretched herself before finding a place near the rail, right next to Jun, who stood with his arms crossed near the edge of the platform and observed the arena closely. Urusai sat down near the two, dropping his legs down like Fushi did and grabbing the rail with both his hands. Naruto stood a little further with hands in his pockets, but he wasn't observing the two participants. His eyes were set on Kigahen.

Saboten raised his head to look at his opponent. At that time Pazu Tso slammed his stone pale to the floor, thus making it crack a little while he narrowed his eyes slightly. The entire time he was smiling.

"Eliminations first fight: Pazu Tso from the Ame and Saboten from Suna… any objections?" Kiba asked as both participants shook their heads in disagreement. "Well then… BEGIN!"

_**---The final challenge begins… who'll win?---**_

Sorry this may have seemed a bit stretched, but since the Popularity Contest have been opened, I figured giving everyone some more, screen time will help you getting to know the more important characters and better choose your favorites. Now, before explaining the rules of the voting, just one glance at the full list of gennin that made it this far into the exam:

**Konoha (Uzumaki Naruto):** Hanayaka Jun, Hatake Ayame, Kodawari Urusai

**Konoha (Hyuuga Hinata):** Aburame Kumo, Emimaru Hinako, Hashira Hisaki

**Konoha (Nara Shikamaru):** Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki, Uchiha Homura

**Konoha (Uchiha Sasuke):** Fuujiru Dajaku, Inuzuka Hige, Reijuushi Kyoudai

**Konoha (Rock Lee):** Mekko Gaki, Naifu Ibuki, Sakudo Kei

**Suna (Temari):** Sabaku no Kai, Nibai, Saboten

**Suna (Kankuro):** Chisoku, Hagetaka, Kugutsu

**Kiri (mist-nins):** Ago Fuka, Ketsueki Kenbu, Kodawari Kigahen (goes without his last name)

**Oto (Yakushi Kabuto):** Kaguya Toge, Tategoto Fushi, Wooku

**Kusa (grass-nins):** Chitagana Renge, Hongen Kamoku, Irakusa

**Ame (rain-nins):** Kasano, Kasumi, Pazu Tso

_**POPULARITY CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES:**_ okay, so for those who decided to do me a favor and take part in the voting, I'll give you the rules and details concerning the contest right now. Most of them were borrowed from Shang (under his permission). To start off I should say that it's different then typical voting: each of you can only give one vote (in review, coz if you'd send your vote via PM or e-mail there will be no way of proving that you even voted), but since I know that it can be hard picking just one character out of a pretty wide bunch, I've decided to allow you pick more then one. Here's how it's gonna work: each of you can vote for **THREE** characters overall (but you don't have to use all the spots… nothing stands in your way to cast your vote on just one character). Now normally it's the number of people who cast their vote on the character what counts, however if the number will be equal, the spot you placed the character on the list will play a part. That is why I ask all of you, that wish to participate, to give their votes in the form of a list… by that I mean make the list with numbers from 1 to 3 and write the character you want to give your vote for next to the number. BUT be aware of the fact that the character that you'll write as number one will be seen as your favorite out of the three. To explain it a bit better, here's an example of a cast vote:

1. Kodawari Urusai

2. Akimichi Choumura

Now, in this case both Urusai and Choumura get one vote, but if the number of votes for them would end up being the same at the end of the voting (if the example above is the only vote cast on them), Urusai would take the spot before Choumura, as he was placed as number one. In the example above the voter decided to vote on only two characters, even though he/she still could've given one vote.

You can vote on ANY character that appeared in the story so far (kinda the reason why Gaara isn't a choice: he didn't appear yet), even the characters from the manga (like Naruto or Sasuke), but when doing so, please base your choice on my fic only (meaning don't vote for Hinata if you liked her in the manga/anime, but you think she's so-so in this story). Also, to make it easier, I placed the list of ALL the characters you may give your votes for bellow (don't think I missed out anyone, but…). If you can't recall what was the name of your favorite character (even with the list bellow) give me some details about him/her (if it's a shinobi then perhaps what village he/she is from, what he wears, his abilities or character… I should be able to figure out who you mean as I created all of them). So here's the list and after that one, final information for you guys:

**KONOHA:**

Hatake Ayame, Hanayaka Jun, Kodawari Urusai, Uzumaki Naruto

Emimaru Hinako, Aburame Kumo, Hashira Hisaki, Hyuuga Hinata

Uchiha Homura, Akimichi Choumura, Hyuuga Isseki, Nara Shikamaru

Inuzuka Hige, Urufudo (Hige's dog) Fuujiru Dajaku, Reijuushi Kyoudai, Uchiha Sasuke

Naife Ibuki, Mekko Gaki, Sakudo Kei, Rock Lee

Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kurenai (Ayame's mom, appeared only in flashbacks), Akimichi Ino (the first examiner), Hyuuga Tenten (the second examiner), Inuzuka Kiba, Umino Iruka, Akimichi Chouji, Aburame Shino, Uchiha Sakura, Uchiha Gouka (Sasuke's younger daughter), Uchiha Enkou (Sasuke's son), Uchiha Naraku (Sasuke's son), Hyuuga Neji, Maito Gai, Akamaru

**SUNA:**

Nibai, Sabaku no Kai, Saboten, Temari

Hagetaka, Chisoku, Kugutsu, Kankuro

**KIRI:**

Ago Fuka, Ketsueki Kenbu, Kodawari Kigahen, Tsurara (the hooded man)

Takanami Kaiyou (the boy Urusai fought at the end of the second exam)

**KUMO:**

Banrai (Hekireki's brother, the Fourth Raikage), Jin (the one who run the Raijuu project)

**OTO:**

Tategoto Fushi, Kaguya Toge, Wooku, Yakushi Kabuto

**KUSA:**

Chitagana Renge, Hongen Kamoku, Irakusa

**AME:**

Kasumi (the girl), Kasano (the violet-haired boy), Pazu Tso

**OTHER:**

Inari, Kumiko (Inari's wife), Aiko (the strange voice in Urusai's head), Genko (Black Flame member who fought Naruto in the Wave Country), Hekireki (one of Genko's subordinates), Ouda (a girl, Genko's subordinate), Hongen (boy, Genko's subordinate), Reiko (a shadow, appeared at the end of Wave Country arc), Kikai (another shadow, also appeared at the end of Wave Country arc)

And now one, last thing: you don't have to vote right away (but at least review the chapter). The contest will be opened for few chapters (if the story will be continued… it depends on the number of reviews I'll get). Not sure how much yet, but the voting won't be closed till chapter 45th, that's for sure (this is to make sure everyone who wants to give their vote will manage to). Naturally if you have any question considering the voting, do ask and I'll try to answer your question with the best of my ability.

I believe that's all for this time. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW. Take care and until next time, hopefully.


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